Council approves agreement with YMCA for Northside Community Centre

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A sticking point during council debate on Monday was the process The City went through to partner with the YMCA.

The Northside Community Centre was always intended to be municipally operated, but the YMCA came along earlier this year to express interest, and the timing made sense, according to Shelley Gagnon, Recreation, Parks and Culture Manager.

In the end, The City did not put out a request for proposals to see if anyone else had interest in operating the building.

“First of all, I speak of the three-year contract compared to a five-year contract. I was a bit disturbed to hear that The City offered a five-year deal instead of a three,” said Councillor Dianne Wyntjes, the lone council member to vote against the proposal.

“For me, the critical issue is of not going to public tender on this. At the end of the day, the YMCA may have been the successful tender received, but I have a difficult time when we are saying we have worked on this Northside Community Centre since 2015 and now I’m hearing that this thing did not go to public tender. That is a concern.”

Nick Parkinson, President and CEO – YMCA of Northern Alberta was elated that his organization will be able to expand and return to serve Red Deer.

“This is 28 years in the making. Over the years we’ve had contact with City administration… and we felt there was tremendous alignment between the two organizations and that both are striving for the same thing,” Parkinson said. “We found we’re both working towards helping kids and families to be successful, an increased sense of well-being, and to ultimately thrive.”

He also noted the YMCA will be reaching out to the community to gain feedback on what kind of services residents would like to see. The partnership with the YMCA is expected to create about 14 full time jobs, 30-50 part time roles, and between 30-50 volunteer spots.

All money raised by the YMCA, a not for profit organization, will stay in Red Deer.

Parkinson said the five-year agreement was preferable because it will take time to flesh out their operational model. That being said, he indicated that they intend to be in Red Deer for the long haul.

The YMCA of Northern Alberta is the second largest branch of the organization in Canada.