Reopening is a workout for the Y

The coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to planning for an expansion of the Feith Family Ozaukee YMCA.

A survey of members to determine what shape the Saukville Y’s expansion would take is on hold as the facility struggles to bring members back as it slowly reopens, Rob Johnson, CEO of the Kettle Moraine  YMCA, which owns the Feith Y, said.

“Expansion plans are definitely on hold at this time,” Johnson said Monday. “It’s a very tough time right now.”

The YMCA is following the blueprint for reopening issued by the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department, opening at 50% of capacity, he said.

But it’s slow going, Johnson said.

“We find a very mixed bag of people who are very cautious for safety reasons and people who are very accepting and want to get back to their routine,” he said. “We’re trying to slowly add things — that’s the bubble we’re following.”

Right now, he said, about 45% of the people who came to the Y last year are here this year.

“That does increase every week,” Johnson said, noting that when the YMCA opened on May 26 only about 24% of its members attended.

About 10% of the Y’s members have canceled their membership in light of the coronavirus pandemic, he said. Another 25% have put their membership on hold, while 65% are continuing their memberships.

“We just appreciate the support,” Johnson said. “We know how tough it is out there.”

The YMCA has had to permanently or temporarily lay off 10% to 20% of its full-time staff members, Johnson said, adding that it did receive a payroll protection loan to help pay its part-time staff members.

One bright spot, he said, is summer day camp. About 100 children attend the program at the Feith Family YMCA and another 50 at John Long Middle School in Grafton.

Day care for the children of essential workers is also going well, he said.

The YMCA has been offering “really limited programming” other than the child care and day camp programs, Johnson said, noting that the blueprint for reopening doesn’t recommend many sports programs.

“That’s difficult,” he said. “It really limits our programming. We’re about family and youth, but we’re not able to serve the full family right now.”

The Y has had to cancel its golf fundraiser, which was first scheduled for June and then rescheduled to August, and its Sip and Sample fundraiser with Family Promise in September.

“We just didn’t feel it was right to go ahead with them,” he said, “seeking money when people are already supporting us through this.”

The Feith Family Ozaukee YMCA, which was acquired by the Kettle Moraine Y in 2014, has undergone significant renovations since that time.

Expansion has always been on the board’s mind, however. They originally hoped to launch the project last year, but decided to delay the plans until they could get input from members and the community.

The Y surveyed community leaders, volunteers and donors and identified three major areas for expansion — a stand-alone child care center and additions for gymnasium and multipurpose space.

The cost of the child care center is estimated at between $1.3 million and $1.7 million, he said, while the gym expansion is expected to cost about $1.1 million.

The Y’s board of directors had hoped to determine what direction the expansion would take by May, then launch a fundraising campaign.

But then the coronavirus hit, and plans are now on hold, possibly until 2021, Johnson said. 

Officials had said the expansion is needed to ensure the YMCA meets the needs of its members, noting that last year the facility experienced an overall 4.5% growth in membership, programming and use.

In 2019, membership grew 10.7%, from 3,200 to 3,542, Johnson said earlier this year. There was also a 3% increase in programming and revenue grew 3.3% to $4.2 million.

It served 816 students from the Northern Ozaukee, Port-Saukville, Grafton and Cedarburg school districts in its before and after-school programs and a 7% increase in its summer day camp program.

Johnson said he is continuing talks with officials from Ansay Development on the company’s plans for a development adjacent to the YMCA as he works to find ways to reopen further.

“We can’t wait to get to fall and hopefully get back to normal,” Johnson said. “If we were to get to 75% capacity, that would be wonderful.”