The Tri-County YMCA of New York, which currently offers programs at the Bath Central School District, is working to expand programs at the school while potentially searching for a permanent facility to host a fitness center.
Kristoph Kocan, CEO of the Tri-County YMCA of New York, said the YMCA started holding after school programs at the Bath Central School District last year and was encouraged by the response.
“We’ve started an after-school program last year at the school,” Kocan said. “This year we opened a small childcare, and we are beginning some other YMCA programs. We are working with the school to expand that to water fitness classes, some outdoor sports, we are looking to start a girl’s flag football league.”
Is a YMCA facility in Bath’s future?
The Tri-County YMCA of NY debuted the Ram Care Center at VEW School with a special open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony in late March.
Bath Central School District Superintendent Kelly Houck is open to expanded partnerships with the YMCA. Houck said this community collaboration between the YMCA and the school district can support and foster opportunities for local kids and community members.
“We’re 100% in support of that,” Houck said. “The YMCA is currently using school facilities, but as you can imagine, we have so many outside agencies that use school facilities so the YMCA having another facility to funnel activities benefits all of us.”
The Tri-County YMCA of NY recently celebrated the grand opening of the YMCA Ram Care Center at VEW School in Bath.
Bath Village Mayor Mike Sweet agrees. Sweet said Bath residents would like the YMCA to have its own dedicated space in the future.
“Everyone who attended a meeting in mid-March held by the YMCA, about 100 people, to gauge the level of community interest were in favor of the YMCA creating a permanent Bath location,” Sweet said.
The YMCA is looking to walk before it starts to run in Bath. Kocan said the YMCA would like to begin operating so many new programs in the area to the point where it needs to look for its own facility in Bath.
“I think that’s trying to identify a temporary space, where the YMCA could hold some activities, classes and events,” Kocan said. “Then the following step would be owning a full-blown permanent space. I think it’s great.”
Houck said a new YMCA facility would create more options for community programs.
“If a YMCA facility opens, it would allow them more opportunities and that would just benefit the entire community,” Houck said. “An area where seniors, adults and kids can enjoy all different types of events.
Bath area shows interest in YMCA’s growth
Kocan said a survey conducted in the Bath area shows the desire people who live in the community have for an enhanced YMCA presence.
“Our goal is to engage in the level of community interest and community support,” said Natalie Donahue, Hornell YMCA branch executive director. “We’d like to start running more YMCA programs in the Bath Central School District buildings to the point we need a permanent residence.”
Donahue said there is a need for more youth and senior programming in the Bath area that the YMCA would cover.
“The next step is to continue work with the Bath School District, which has been a great partner, to grow what we can offer using their facilities,” Donahue said. “We also have people signed up forming a volunteer committee to serve as an advocate for programs in the Bath area.”
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Donahue said the YMCA started a similar process to create and expand activities in Dansville in 2020.
“We started running programs with the Dansville Central School District,” Donahue said. “In 2022 the YMCA purchased a Family Dollar building and turned it into a fitness center. We continue to use the school’s gymnasiums and pools, but the new fitness center is heavily used.”
Kocan said the YMCA something similar to what happened in Dansville can happen in Bath.
“We see something following along the same lines happening in Bath as the programs grow and the YMCA runs out of space,” Kocan said. “We have already started looking at existing spaces in Bath to renovate and move into.”
Donahue agrees.
“I think we’ve got to mirror what we did in Dansville,” Donahue said. “Eventually looking for a facility to have a fitness center to hold group exercise classes.”
This article originally appeared on The Leader: Bath, YMCA share interest in more programs, finding building