Bad Links?
Other glitches?
Notify Webmaster

$15M swim-arts center eyed

By J. FRANK LYNCH
jflynch@thecitizennews.com

The Fayette Family YMCA has launched an ambitious campaign to raise $15 million to build an indoor aquatics center and arts complex on 12 acres owned by the Board of Education in the heart of the county.

Last week, YMCA officials unveiled their plans and made a plea for support at a meeting of the Association of Fayette County Governments.

Superintendent John DeCotis, chairman of the Project Development Committee for the YMCA, is spearheading the fundraising effort.

In a Powerpoint presentation, Pam Young, executive director of the Fayette Family YMCA, made the case for the facility, saying that the two groups that would benefit most from the facility — the county’s school-age population and senior citizens — continue to grow.

The proposed site, on Lester Road across from Cleveland Elementary School and near the present YMCA facility, is centrally located “within 15 minutes of every citizen,” Young said.

It is especially close to Fayette Community Hospital, which plans to make use of a therapeutic/family pool that is part of the plans.

Additionally, phase one of the facility would include:

• An Olympic-size competitive pool;

• Bleachers and staging area for competitions;

• An art gallery;

• A performing arts auditorium with 424 seats;

• Backstage space complete with fly system and state-of-the-art lighting and sound;

• A black-box theater;

• Dressing rooms;

• Five classrooms;

• A wellness center with state-of-the-art fitness equipment, a gymnasium and running track;

• Common areas to include a welcome center and offices, baby-sitting area, teen center, concession areas, sculpture garden, walkways and locker rooms.

Phase two of the proposal would include an outdoor family water park feature and additional patio/picnic areas, Young said.

The YMCA was appealing to the local governments first because similar joint efforts have been successful in other areas of Metro Atlanta, Young said.

For example, the city of Canton invested $10 million in the Cherokee YMCA, she said, and Henry County pledged $5 million to the Henry YMCA for a swim facility. Residents of cities that help fund the facility get discounts on YMCA memberships, DeCotis said.

The YMCA is also seeking “naming rights” donations as well, Young said. Persons or companies that donate large sums of money to the project could have parts of the facility named in their honor, she said.

The Board of Education isn’t likely to fund any part of the project, though the county’s school swim teams will surely make use of the indoor facility, DeCotis said.

The board set aside the 12 acres of land last year for just such a purpose, DeCotis said, and will lease the property to the YMCA in exchange for letting the school teams use the facility. No lease agreement has been reached yet, but DeCotis said it would likely be a minimum charge.

YMCA officers have been working for a couple of years on the plans, and no time frame for starting construction was given last week.

“We’re really just getting this off the ground,” DeCotis said.

The Fayette Family YMCA was founded in 1987 and since 1992 has been located on 29 acres of land on Huiet Road, where it teaches swimming classes and holds summer day camps. The site is also home to the Fayette Family Play Park, which was built in five days in 1994 by 3,000 volunteers.