At the county board meeting held May 24, Nancy Schultz, principal owner and president of CR-Building Performance Specialists, Incorporated (CR-BPS) presented the results of the facility and energy assessment of the county-owned YMCA that was conducted over the last year.
Currently the YMCA is valued at $8.33 million, said Schultz.
Because the blended building (the gym and cardio/weight room and studio above the weight room were built in 1951 and renovated in 2013 and tied together with the 17,417-square-foot addition that was built during that time) is in good shape, it is relatively energy efficient, said Schultz. But to maintain the current building condition over the next 20 years the county will have to invest $3.5 million in repairs and replacement of equipment, she added.
Cook County School District 166 shares some of the 32,296-square-foot multi-level space with the Y. The school uses the pool and gymnasium for classes, sports practices and games. The entities share the cost of heat, fire alarms, the fire sprinkler system and propane.
But when it came time to determine how much energy the Y was using, Schultz said because the available energy usage data combined the school and the Y, it was not possible to clearly separate what energy was used by the school and what the YMCA used.
In the near term, Schultz said over the next 10 years the building is estimated to need a total of $1.2 million in building system replacement/ renewals if the county wants it to maintain the facility at its current level.
She provided a timeline that showed $8,022 should be spent in 2016, $89,422 in 2017, $52,106 in 2018, $3,403 in 2022, $957,460 in 2023 and $10,230 in 2025.
The timeline and costs associated with it will allow the county to budget for these improvements, Schultz said.
Where will the money come from to pay for this upkeep? Some might come from the Y’s membership fees said Schultz, because the Y continues to add more members.
Another way to save money will be to install automatic thermostats in rooms that can be turned down when no one is using the space, Schultz said.
After the meeting Commissioner Frank Moe said maintenance costs also might be met by obtaining PACE (property assessed clean energy) financing through a Joint Powers Agreement with the St. Paul Port Authority. Lowering the costs of energy consumption can reap big savings and those savings can go back into paying for maintenance, said Moe.
Currently the county provides staff to work at the Y in the maintenance department, but the goal is to hire one person to assume these duties. However commissioners tabled an agreement to hire someone at $40,000 per year until they have renegotiated terms of management with YMCA and the Joint Powers Agreement with the City of Grand Marais for shared costs of the Y. That should take place within the next two months, said County Administrator Jeff Cadwell.
Moe said the $40,000 budgeted for annual wages for the new position will be paid by the county, but that cost will be taken off of the $100,000 annual stipend the county now pays as its share for management by the Duluth YMCA. The City of Grand Marais also pays $100,000 each year to the Y.
“We have started assembling, evaluating and representing the facility and energy data with the goal of supporting you with your decision-making process regarding strategic considerations and all other improvements impacting the facility and its inhabitants,” Schultz said.
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