A Meridian YMCA opened 2 years ago with no swimming pool. That soon will be rectified
When the South Meridian YMCA opened two years ago, it offered members elliptical trainers, treadmills and stationary bicycles, a weight room, a four-level play structure and group exercise studios.
The one thing it lacked was a swimming pool.
That’s about to change.
The Y, located at 5155 S. Hillsdale Ave., is in the midst of building a 22,000-square-foot aquatics center. When it’s completed late next spring, the center will feature a 6-lane, 25-yard lap pool; a 25-yard therapy pool with a “lazy river” current channel; a therapy spa and hot tub; and an outdoor splash pad.
There will also be a water slide unlike those at the Treasure Valley YMCA’s existing aquatics centers in downtown Boise, West Boise and Caldwell.
“You climb the stairs and enter the slide inside the building, then it takes you outside the building and makes a couple of loops and then you come back into the building into a raceway, where you exit the slide,” David Duro, the YMCA’s CEO and president, said in a phone interview. “It’s going to be a ton of fun and a really popular feature.”
The pool was always a part of the plan for the South Meridian YMCA, which shares a gym and classroom space with the adjacent Hillsdale Elementary School.
Voters were initially asked to pay for the pools and water features. The West Ada Recreation District asked to borrow $20 million to build two pools, one at the Y and another in north Meridian.
While 51% of voters approved of the idea, the measure failed to obtain the two-thirds majority needed.
The YMCA took on the burden to finance the $16 million pool center itself. It has raised $11.7 million so far. Earlier this month, the Murdock Trust of Vancouver, Washington, gave $350,000 toward the pool complex.
Duro is confident the YMCA can raise the rest of the money before the pools are completed. But if those efforts fall short, the Y will reluctantly borrow what it needs.
“It sounds almost silly to say that,” Duro said. “All businesses take on debt when they’re doing capital expansion. The difference with the Y is that when we service debt, it takes away from our ability to provide services and programs to the community on a subsidized basis.”
The outdoor portion of the water slide will be located next to Hillsdale Park, a 10-acre park developed by the city of Meridian. While the slide will be primarily for use by YMCA members, there will be times when it is open to the public and accessible through Hillsdale Park, Duro said.
“It’s going to be a fun day when we get to cut the ribbon on that thing,” Duro said.
YMCA shut down during the coronavirus pandemic
All four of the Treasure Valley YMCA buildings closed in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The buildings reopened on May 26 on a limited basis. Members were allowed to work out in the weight rooms and use cardiovascular equipment. Then, on June 8, the three aquatics centers reopened, with lap swimming by appointment only.
Steam rooms, saunas, hot tubs and children’s pools remain closed for the time being.
About 1,000 of the YMCA’s 1,259 employees were laid off during the pandemic. The Y continued to pay its share of health insurance premiums so that no one lost coverage because they were laid off, he said.
The Y has rehired up to 599 of its staff, with more expected in coming months, officials said.
The YMCA did not qualify for federal Paycheck Protection Program loans because it had more than 500 employees, Duro said. The Paycheck Protection Program provides money to businesses to retain workers and bring back those laid off because of a drop in sales at stores and restaurants. If at least 75% of the proceeds are used for payroll expenses and the rest used for certain other business expenses, the loans are forgiven.
Duro said he was disappointed, because most of the Y’s employees teach a class or two, teach swim lessons, or work 8 hours a week as a child development employee.
The entire staff is less than the equivalent of 500 full-time positions, he said.
“Another organization can have 499 people that work 40 hours a week and they still qualify,” Duro said. “That really hurt us as an organization.”
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
