Commissioner Bruce Martinson is encouraging every county employee to sign up for a YMCA membership. “A healthy workforce is a productive workforce,” he said at the county board meeting on December 3, 2013.
At its previous meeting, the board had talked about the possibility of the county paying for a corporate membership for all of its employees to belong to the new Y opening in January.
Cook County and the city of Grand Marais have both agreed to pay up to $100,000 a year toward YMCA operating deficits and $10,000 a year to be set aside for future building repairs. Commissioner Martinson said any deficit over $200,000 would be covered by the county. Commissioner Sue Hakes, who was absent from the December 3 meeting, had said the week before that maybe the county’s deficit payment could be reduced by whatever they would pay for a corporate membership, which would give them more value for their money.
On December 3, Commissioner Martinson said he would support an agreement with the city that money paid to the YMCA for employee memberships would be considered part of its $100,000 contribution.
Commissioner Heidi Doo-Kirk said they would need to find out what the financial ramifications of a corporate membership would be.
To give an incentive like this is wrong, Commissioner Jan Hall said. She said she felt “slapped in the face” when she heard that ISD 166 was providing a corporate membership to their employees. “I just can’t do that to the public,” she said.
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