Difficult decisions for YMCA regarding operations

The OD reported that the Mohawk Valley YWCA Monday announced cuts to programs including the closing of its pool, fitness center, children’s center and the end of its Y girls program.

The cuts are an effort to ensure the organization’s long-term sustainability of the nonprofit, Executive Director Natalie L. Brown said.

“It was imperative for us to take an honest look at our operations, develop a long-term strategy and make some difficult decisions,” Brown said in a news release. “We’ve taken time to evaluate and consider our long-term plan so that we can continue to exist and successfully provide services to the community.”

The Mohawk Valley YWCA has been running an approximately $484,000 deficit since 2004, Brown said.

If the organization continued to operate without the changes, it would have led to the YWCA’s closure in five to nine years, Brown said. The program cuts came after about nine months of planning, and should put the YWCA in a better financial position to handle any cuts to grants or other financial resources in this changing economic environment, she said.

The pool is scheduled to close June 30.

Four full-time and several part-time positions will be eliminated due to the closure of the pool and children’s center, Brown said.

She said she does not see the pool reopening in the future. Brown and the YWCA Board of Directors will be researching options on what to do with the unused facilities, she said.

“If it wasn’t a good program, this would be a piece of cake. It’s just really, really hard. Unfortunately sometimes you have to make those decisions,” Brown said.

The YWCA will continue to provide violence prevention education and sexual violence crisis services in Oneida and Herkimer counties, and domestic violence crisis services in Oneida County.

YWCA members who use the pool and fitness facilities plan to inquire board at its annual meeting tonight.