The C.B. Pennington Jr. YMCA has closed its indoor pool to its members, with management saying costs were unsustainable after membership numbers dropped following the 2016 flood.
Since the flood, the YMCA has re-opened 75% of its facilities on Old Hammond Highway, including the indoor pool, but Christian Engle, president and CEO of YMCA of the Capital Area, says membership numbers for the club are half of what it needs to be in order to support the pool costs.
Between maintaining the $2.5-million facility itself and paying lifeguards, Engle estimates it can cost up to $230,000 annually to keep the pool open to members. Following the flood, membership at that Y location dropped from 1,800 to 1,000. Those numbers would have to return to 1,800 to 2,000 to reopen the pool. Branches that do have full pool operations—such as the Paula G. Manship YMCA and the A.C. Lewis YMCA—each have 2,000 or more members, he says.
The pool, which first opened in 2009, will remain open for youth programming.
“I think it’s important for people to know that the YMCA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that’s there for the community, but the community has to be there for the Y as well,” Engle says, adding that while the YMCA applied for funding through FEMA, it didn’t receive any.
Overall, the YMCA of the Capital Region has roughly 10,000, about 2,000 fewer than before the 2016 flood.
