YMCA of Long Island makes case for development of new branch in Calverton

Proponents of a long-sought YMCA in Riverhead had the opportunity to strut their stuff Tuesday night at a “qualified and eligible sponsor” hearing before the Riverhead Town Board.

The YMCA of Long Island presented its financial statements, track record in other communities, program overview and plans for a new facility on 7.3 acres at the Calverton Enterprise Park as it made its case for the “qualified and eligible sponsor” designation. The designation is required by state law as a condition for the sale or lease of the site by the Riverhead Community Development Agency.

YMCA of Long Island treasurer Gordon M. Siess, a CPA, said the organization has net assets of $48.9 million, which includes $8 million in unrestricted net assets. At the close of 2010 the YMCA had a surplus of more than $2 million, according to audited financial statements he presented to the board. (The 2011 audited financials are not yet completed.) The YMCA has had surpluses in each of the 15 years he’s been involved with the organization, Siess said.

Siess noted that 84 percent of the nonprofit group’s total expenses were program expenses.

The organization has earned clean, unqualified reports by its outside auditors each year, Siess said.

Scott Sammis, chairman of the board of the YMCA of Long Island, said the need for a Y in Riverhead is “acute” and YMCA of Long Island is in a very strong position to fill the need.

Sammis explained that the organization has an “intensely local” decentralized management structure, with each branch having its own board consisting of local business people and community leaders. The local board determines programming and sets fees for membership, facility use and programs.

“All programs are tailored to meet the needs of individual communities,” Sammis said. “The local board members are the eyes and ears of the branch.”

YMCA of Long Island operated five branches: Glen Cove, Huntington, Bay Shore, Patchogue, and East Hampton.

“One thing the facilities all have in common,” he said, “is the stunning impact they have on their individual communities. In all cases, communities flourish, new pride develops, businesses are bolstered and relationships connected,” Sammis said.

Sammis called the YMCA’s branch in Patchogue “”the crown jewel.”

“It’s an amazing facility,” Sammis said.

The $19 million, three-story, 54,000-square-foot facility in downtown Patchogue (the West Main Street site where Swezey’s Department Stores had opened a new store in 2000) opened its doors in September 2010.

“By year’s end 8,000 families had signed up to become part of the Y family and take part in the branch’s programs and facilities,” according to the YMCA of Long Island’s 2010 annual report to the community.

Patchogue YMCA has a 25-yard heated indoor pool, a gymnasium, a suspended track for running, walking and jogging, a cardio and strength training center, aerobic and cycle studios, a 25-foot rock-climbing wall, seven full- and half-day child care and preschool classrooms, meeting rooms, locker rooms and day camp facilities, according to the Patchogue YMCA 2011 directory.

The Riverhead facility “won’t be as fancy,” Sammis said. And it won’t include basketball courts or the suspended indoor track, “unless you can raise $19 million.”

Peconic YMCA has $6.5 million “committed in writing,” according to Fritz Trinklein, YMCA director of strategic planning. Estimated construction costs for its current plans, which include an indoor pool and eight classrooms/multi-purpose rooms in a 40,000-square-foot facility, are about $8 million, he said.

The town board intends to donate a 7.3-acre lot in the Calverton Enterprise Park subdivision to Peconic YMCA. The town will lease the land to the organization until the subdivision is completed, so that the group can begin its permit application process.

Peconic YMCA founder Joe Van de Wetering, who has been working on the Y project since 1997, said he believes the YMCA to be a primary community asset, like the public library and public schools.

“It will be a place where civic organizations can meet free of charge, a place for seniors groups to hold activities, a place for teenagers to hang out in a safe environment, a place for child care programs, and of course it will teach kids how to swim,” Van de Wetering said.

Supervisor Sean Walter said he’d like to see the organization designated a qualified and eligible sponsor by the town board at its first meeting in August.

“YMCA you’re on your way,” Walter said.

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