YMCA Testing the Waters For Multi-Sport Court Building
Bar Harbor Inn gazebo restored, Shore Path received donation
BAR HARBOR—The MDI YMCA is calling it an airnasium. Maybe.
And it’s not set in steel yet, but the organization has started testing the waters, Parks and Recreation Committee member and local YMCA CEO and Executive Director Ann Tikkanen said in a Monday afternoon presentation to the committee and two audience members about the YMCA’s proposal to construct a multi-sport court or “airnasium.”
“We are calling it a multi-sport court. There was a time where I was calling it a field house, but that didn’t resonate with anybody. If you have sent a child to school or college, that is not what we are talking about,” Tikkanen said.
Tikkanen said that at this point, she is just “socializing an idea” with no agenda other than supporting families and recreational activities and trying to gauge public interest in the concept.
Currently, the YMCA has 18 children in preschool, all day. This does not include the summer programs which will be starting soon. The YMCA has limited indoor or covered space and the building’s current gymnasium is the only multi-sport space that they have.
“It’s really hard to manage them all (the kids) just inside of the gym right now because there is just not enough space for everybody,” Tikkanen said.
An airnasium is a covered multi-sport gym with a roof but usually without walls. Tikkanen is also contemplating a fully enclosed space that can be utilized year-round. It would have to be heated but it would not need extra facilities such as locker rooms or bathrooms because users could go into the YMCA building for those needs. One of the 2,250-square-foot outdoor airnasiums that was built by a YMCA in North Hampton, Massachusetts last year led to a $1 million fundraising drive.
A multi-sport surface usually accommodates a wide range of popular sports: volleyball, badminton, pickleball, basketball, soccer, and many youth focused activities. Tikkanen believes that many community-based sports that are currently played on the ball fields can be played on the multi-sport court and would be able to be played year-round.
Tikkanen has been working with a company called Urban Soccer Park for very initial design ideas and rough pricing for different options. She also said that the YMCA is contemplating a campaign feasibility study. They would like to try to interview members of the community around their interest in YMCA programs, feedback in how the YMCA is doing, and test interest in a multi-sport court.
LOCATION
The committee’s meeting packet included an aerial photo of the property that the YMCA leases from the town with two possible sites for the multi-sport court. Committee Vice Chair Greg Veilleux asked Tikkanen if she could review the possible locations again.
The three options at this point in time, according to Tikkanen, are in the YMCA’s Park Street side lot where a new shed and the asymmetrical awning currently reside; behind the YMCA in the dirt parking lot along School Street; or somewhere on the ball fields.
Committee member Jeff Dobbs asked where in the ball fields Tikkanen was thinking of. Tikkanen replied that she did not know because she does not know much about the history of the ball fields and how certain things came to be such as the skate park, the helipad, and Acadia Youth Sports’ usage. Tikkanen added that maybe it could be a joint project led by a “friends of” type of group, similar to how the skate park was built. This is also how the Park Street Playground was built, which was private donations and community labor, with minimal expense to the town except upkeep once the project was completed.
Committee member Erin Cough asked about the potential for the building to go in the dirt parking lot off School Street and Edgewood Street.
Public Works Director Bethany Leavitt said that she thought that the YMCA actually owned this piece of property and Tikkanen replied that she didn’t know that the YMCA owns that parcel.
An email on Wednesday to Bar Harbor Town Assessor Steve Weed regarding that question clarified, “The parking lot is part of the YMCA parcel, so it is owned by the town, but the parcel is leased to the YMCA, so they may have proprietary use and or maintenance requirements of the lot depending on how the lease agreement was written.”
Cough said during the Monday meeting, “I think the ideal location would be in the back parking lot, on the YMCA field, or on the athletic fields between the two, where the basketball courts are down there. But I think with the development things that are over in that area, it might be a little too sensitive.”
Questioning available space on the ball fields, Dobbs said that six or seven years ago the committee asked the Conners Emerson school administration if they were willing to give up the middle school baseball field because they didn’t use it often and they said that they were not willing to let it go.
Audience member Tanya Ivanow asked about the contaminated soil at the YMCA property, as far as how the floor of the courts would be constructed. To this question, Leavitt responded that no matter what kind of foundation the court would have, some topsoil would have to be removed to counteract settling. Leavitt also said that soil removal and covering the soil with a hard surface, such as concrete or asphalt, are both accepted methods of contaminated soil remediation.
FINANCES AND DESIRES
“I think it potentially is really a win for the quasi-indoor-outdoor space albeit it could look like a big building,” Tikkanen said of the idea. “I have developed a bunch of different projects and I get very enthusiastic about all the projects that I have been involved in and it’s a fun one, too. I feel so confident that it would be used and it would be a lot of fun. I think even in the summertime, it could be programmed in an interesting way to keep that part of the town lively and interesting.”
Dobbs asked Tikkanen what the YMCA Board of Directors thought about the idea.
“In general, I think that they are very positive. I think the board and trustees are very practical, so their minds go right to money. So, as I mentioned, we have engaged a consulting company and we are going to run a series of interviews with anybody who would like to be a part of it. We are going to put some cause cards in front of anyone who wants to be interviewed and that will include the notion of possible expansion and a possible multi-sport court,” Tikkanen said.
“Have they (Urban Soccer Park) given you any idea of what the cost is today?” Dobbs asked.
Tikkanen replied, “Well, I have some initial ideas but I really don’t want to wing any numbers out because I think it really has to do with how large a footprint, 60’ x 90’ versus 90’ x 110’, and the scope of how covered it is. The team and I feel that it should be covered and have sides because it will get used a lot.”
“So, we are looking to get all of that input and then the consultants are going to prepare an executive summary of all of the input. From there I think we have some rough ideas on the building expansion and I will have some more rough numbers, if we were to do a multi-sport court, notwithstanding the roof,” Tikkanen said later in the meeting stating that by the July 15 meeting date she could probably have some more information for the group.
The whole idea is subject to the money and aesthetics that the community might have an appetite for, Tikkanen stated.
Dobbs asked about the YMCA’s endowment and if it had grown any since he was last a YMCA board member about 10 years ago.
“The endowment is about $3.2 million now and I can send you the annual report that I just put together. And we are fundraising more money than ever and it is required to keep the doors open to the Y. I could not double the membership dues and keep the doors open. So, I am just thrilled with the generosity and the wherewithal of the community that kind of understands what it takes to continue to balance the budget at the Y,” Tikkanen answered. “The endowment, for the most part, has nominally a 4% spend back to support operations. So, every year we just start with about $40,000 from investment yield from the endowment and then nominally $100,000-$200,000 is typically spent on capital. So, this past year we have spent over $200,000 in capital. That was last year. Our year ended September 2023. So far this year, we have spent $145,000 replacing the pool roof and in August we will be spending $140,000 to replace the pool filter. We have put lots of money into the boiler system and putting in more heat pumps.” They also want to replace the gym floor next year so that capital budget will probably be over $300,000.
OPERATION OF MULTI-SPORT COURT
Cough asked, “This would be a facility that is Y managed and would come under the Y umbrella and not necessarily the town?”
“I think it could, and I thought if there were an appetite on the athletic field, then it could be a collaboration between the town and the Y to manage it and program it,” Tikkanen said.
“That would be a Y-membership facility?” asked Veilleux.
Tikkanen answered, “It could. We do guest passes, comped people, reduced fees for seasonal workers, and we have a new system for property managers.”
“And again, that comes down to the field soccer, there is a potential for some of those people not to be members of the Y. How do you even control that? Do you have someone there taking cards?” Veilleux continued.
“Uh, yeah, I mean I suppose we could,” Tikkanen said. “For example, the women’s junior volleyball, they come in and they just pay us an amount so that they can practice “X” number of times a week for “X” number of weeks. You know it’s all very affordable when you break it down by per person and how many hours they are inside the Y.”
PUBLIC WORKS UPDATE
The last order of business was a public works update by Leavitt. She said that the town is still working on getting a contractor in to do the trees between the ball field and the Ledgelawn residences on the east side of Ledgelawn Avenue.
Leavitt also said that the gazebo that is by the waterfront next to the Bar Harbor Inn was just rehabilitated by David Witham’s crews and is looking great.
And the Glen Mary Woods cleanup is still in the works, Leavitt said. Public Works was hoping to get it done in May and here it is June already but they will get to it as soon as they can.
Audience member and Warrant Committee candidate Barbara Dunphey asked Leavitt what the Glen Mary cleanup entails and read part of the deed from Mary Shannon that conveyed the property to the Village Improvement Society (Association) in September 1894 “that the fine old pine trees thereon shall be specially cared for.”
Dunphey added that she doesn’t feel that just picking up sticks and fallen trees meets the desires of Mary Shannon for upkeep of the woods.
Dobbs, who is also a board member of the Village Improvement Association (VIA) replied that the VIA had pledged more money to take care of the small woodland property, but then the Shore Path damage occurred, and the money has been redirected for now.
Leavitt responded that they have been discussing a tree management plan for the woods, but it was removed from the town’s budget, and she hopes that in the future they can get funding to have a real tree management plan.
The next meeting of the Parks and Recreation Committee is tentatively scheduled for June 17, pending new business.
SHORE PATH UPDATE
The Bar Harbor Village Improvement Association continues to fundraise for repair along the Shore Path, which was extensively damaged during a duo of winter storms.
This week Testa’s gave the association $10,000 toward its efforts this week. It is one of many Bar Harbor businesses and private residents that have supported the rebuild.
According to the association, “Wave after crashing wave washed large sections of the path out to sea while destroying 500' of retaining walls. Today, what you've known as a tranquil stroll by the sea is a stark reminder of nature's force, rendering the path inaccessible.
”For 141 years, the Bar Harbor Village Improvement Association (VIA) as part of its mission, has been the silent guardian of the Shore Path, a testament to stewardship and the generosity of private landowners who have shared this treasure with our community and visitors like you.
“Through the incredible support of the Bar Harbor Inn and the unwavering financial commitment of the VIA, we've raised $625,000 towards the restoration of our cherished path.”
Links to learn more about the contaminated soils at the YMCA.
Links to agencies mentioned in this story.
MDI YMCA
Village Improvement Association
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