Snoqualmie Valley YMCA Executive Director Nate Smith has been saying for about three years that the YMCA, which has one of the highest market member penetration rates in the county, is running out of space. The city – which owns the facility that is operated by the Y – had been considering running a bond for a building and pool expansion, but those plans were put on hold in late 2017.
Smith said they’ve had to to get creative to add more space for programs and to alleviate crowding in the exercise area. A couple of years ago they discussed the portable solution, but didn’t get really serious about until earlier this year. The portable they are considering is 40 ft. x 24 ft. and would add about 900 sq. ft. of space.
Programs that currently operate in the meeting room located next to the Y’s Ridge Street entrance – including before and after school care and community meetings – would be moved into the new portable that will be located in the grassy area adjacent the Y’s main [parking lot] entrance.
The 650 sq. ft. Ridge Street meeting room would then be used for for cardio/exercise space, allowing the current exercise area to be expanded with more equipment. Smith said currently during peak hours, the exercise area is very crowded.
The YMCA recently submitted a design review application to the city for the the portable, which went to the planning commission for consideration on August 6th. At the meeting Smith presented the plans and proposed portable location. He said about five feet of the new portable would show from Ridge Street, but they plan to landscape around it and paint it similar colors to the current building in order to make it look as nice as possible.
Smith said planning commission members had some reservations, including concerns about the appearance, but that the they did issue a Design Review Board Approval Letter. The Y’s next step is to apply for a city building permit. The plans do not require city council approval. The design approval included the following conditions:
- Any new buildings shall require additional design review approval.
- The applicant shall obtain a building permit prior to construction.
- The portable building shall be painted to match the existing community center.
“We are excited for the additional space that will allow us to serve more people and we appreciate working with the City of Snoqualmie to make this possible,” Smith commented. “We realize this is a short term solution and will continue to work with the City to find a longer term plan”.
The Snoqualmie Valley YMCA hopes to the have the portable installed and hosting programing by December 2018.
Comments
Danna did you remove this article from your FB page?
No, actually I didn’t. No idea what happened. Will repost in the morning.
Why delete from Facebook? I find it your censorship and deleting comments controlling and very biased. when you blog about any topic that concerns the public they should have a right to exercise freedom of speech, are you trying to moderate lfor the mayor now?
Anne – I don’t know why this was removed from Facebook. I will check with them and repost it in the morning. Sorry.
Anne- I feel your comment was controlling and just plain MEAN! You were wrong to ASSUME she did it on purpose or for the Mayor. Try to have more class.