Y's timing leaves much to be desired

On March 18, the Blytheville City Council agreed to give $20,000 to the Blytheville YMCA. Soon after, the city of Gosnell followed suit, kicking in $3,000 to the cause.

And now, just over four months later, the YMCA of Memphis has announced plans to shut the facility down, closing its doors for good on Aug. 29, having been in operation for less than 11 months.

The silver lining — if you can call it that — is that some of that money may be coming back. YMCA CEO Keith Johnson said the YMCA will return about a third of the money it got from the two cities. But there's no word what is to become of rest of the thousands of dollars given by local citizens, businesses and organizations. Best guess is that money's gone for good.

Defenders of the YMCA will point out that the Memphis organization pumped thousands of dollars into the local facility, and sustained six-figure losses in the effort. And that's a valid point. Though it must be noted that much of that investment came by way of new exercise equipment and other items, which will surely be shipped backed to Memphis; not to mention staff payroll, which will have little lasting local impact.

It's interesting that the decision to pull out of Blytheville came just weeks after the Memphis Y received its $20,000 from the city of Blytheville. Blytheville Mayor Barrett Harrison said the check was cut June 13.

Johnson said the timing was based on disappointing enrollment figures for the Y's summer camp and upcoming fall after-school program. Yet that's a dubious claim. For one thing, it's only July, and many parents are still in "summer mode," and not yet thinking about after-school care. For another, programs like summer camps and after-school programs need time to develop. You can't realistically expect to evaluate their success or failure before they've even begun.

At the end of the day, this looks like a business decision, pure and simple. With fuel costs skyrocketing, the YMCA is no doubt facing the same budget constraints as everyone else. And it's easy to imagine a scenario in which board members were looking for ways to cut costs, and cutting Blytheville loose seemed like the easiest thing to do.

From a business standpoint, it may be a decision that makes sense. But from a timing standpoint, it's a decision that stinks.

If the Y was going to close, this was a decision that could have been made in March and April. For all practical purposes, there is no more information available today than was available months ago. Then, just as now, memberships were low, but showing signs of growth. Then, just as now, youth programs were in their infancy, but showing signs of promise. If the YMCA was serious about pulling out of Blytheville, that was the time to do it.

But instead, they waited. They waited until they could collect more "save the YMCA donations" from local citizens and businesses. They waited until the local soccer association agreed to stake its future with the YMCA. They waited until they got a $23,000 boost from the taxpayers of Blytheville and Gosnell. They assured us that if the community bought into the YMCA, the YMCA would be here for us. But as soon as the community became vested in the facility, they pulled the plug.

According to Johnson, the mission of the YMCA is "to put Christian principles into practice" and "to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities."

If the YMCA truly believed in those ideals, they should have given the sizable investments made in the facility at least another year to yield results. Falling short of that, at the very least, they should refund Blytheville and Gosnell the entirety of their donations. And if they really want to do the right thing, they should consider a hefty donation back to the community at large to make up for some of what they have taken.