CAMBRIDGE — Members of the Pauline F. & W. David Robbins Family YMCA braved the steam room-like heat of the facility’s gym last Tuesday evening to hear more about the YMCA of the Chesapeake’s interest in moving its Cambridge location to Cambridge Harbor.
The meeting was held less than two weeks after an email was sent out by the YMCA of the Chesapeake that made people think the organization had reached a deal with Cambridge Waterfront Development Inc. to build a new YMCA on the Cambridge Harbor site. On June 11, both CWDI Executive Director Matt Leonard and YMCA of the Chesapeake CEO Robbie Gill told the Star Democrat that there is no deal to build on Cambridge Harbor.
The YMCA is advocating the need to build a new YMCA, Gill said on June 11. He said the existing site is not sustainable over the next two decades and can’t provide certain programs, amenities and services.
At the June 18 members meeting, Gill gave a presentation on a market study they conducted which tested three different sites for a new Cambridge YMCA facility. Two representatives from Triangle2, the firm that completed the market study, presented with Gill.
The three sites tested in the market study were the current YMCA location, Cambridge Harbor and a parcel on the corner of Maple Dam Road and Route 16, which is near Cambridge-South Dorchester High School. Triangle2 CEO Lori Swann said 814 households were interviewed for the market study.
Swan said the current site and Maple Dam Road site did not test as well as the Cambridge Harbor site did.
According to the presentation, 73% of the interviewed county residents that were interested in joining the YMCA would be “very likely” to participate in a YMCA at Cambridge Harbor. The presentation showed that 61% felt that way about the current location and 42% felt that way about the Maple Dam Road site.
Gill said the market study made it clear that the community is in need of amenities that the current facility can’t provide.
“In essence, what we want to do is address community need, and there’s no community that’s more deserving of a new YMCA than this one,” he said.
During the question and answer portion of the meeting, held in the slightly cooler lobby of the YMCA, many members questioned the idea that Cambridge Harbor is the best site for a new facility. Questions about the consideration of other sites, rebuilding the current facility, funding new construction and the fate of the current YMCA location were all raised.
Gill said if they tore down the current facility and built a new one on the property, Cambridge would lose its YMCA for at least three years.
“We’re not comfortable not serving this community for two-and-a-half (years), two years (or) even three months,” he said.
In response, some members said they didn’t believe that. One member brought up the possibility of a new facility being built next to the old facility so that the old facility could remain in operation until the new one is complete.
Answering a question about the market study itself, Swann said the goal of study was to get input from community members who are not currently supporting the YMCA. She said they can always send out email surveys and get information from members.
YMCA member Dale Schrader stepped in front of Gill in response to this and asked, “Does it matter to you what we want?” This brought on applause from other members.
“It does matter,” Gill said, “but you have 3,000 other people that don’t access the Y and use the Y because there are amenities that are missing.”
In an interview after the meeting, YMCA member Kathy Abend said she believes amenities can be provided at either of the sites. She said the waterfront is intended to bring in revenue for the county, and putting a YMCA on the waterfront would not bring in that revenue.
Along with that, Abend said she doesn’t think a YMCA on the waterfront would be safe.
“We don’t even know what’s coming yet on that waterfront,” she said.
During the question and answer portion of the meeting, member Phil Reed said his impression from the meeting was that Gill and the YMCA are sold on the waterfront site.
Abend, who has been a member of the YMCA for several years, said after the meeting she didn’t think Gill seemed open to rebuilding on the current site. “He was shutting this down,” she said. Still Abend thought the members who participated asked really good questions. “Everyone had the same concerns,” she said, “I thought that was interesting.”
As he ended the meeting, Gill shared his contact information and told the crowd that the YMCA of the Chesapeake isn’t trying to upset people.
“We’re just trying to make an impact and a bigger difference,” he said. “And whatever that path looks like, we’ll continue to navigate it.”
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