By Nick Buglione
The Nassau County Legislature's Rules Committee is expected to OK bringing in the YMCA to manage the Aquatic Center during a July 21 hearing. The committee was scheduled to vote July 14, but tabled the matter so that a few final details in the contract could be ironed out.
The Aquatic Center, which was built for the 1998 Goodwill Games and houses the largest pool in the northern hemisphere at 80,000 square feet, has lost more than $2 million a year since it opened.
"In the contract, there are benchmarks where we would like to be," said Michael Famiglietti, president and CEO of YMCA Long Island, which operates nine centers with pools in Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as 20 non-recreational program sites.
Over its five-year contract with the county, the YMCA aims to steadily increase the Aquatic Center's annual revenue. It is hoped that by next year, revenue will jump to $1.5 million, about $500,000 more than it usually pulls in in a year, and hit $2.2 million by 2005.
The YMCA expects it will break even by 2006, when the center would gross $2.7 million, Famiglietti said. The year after that, it's projected that the center will bring in $3.5 million, creating its first surplus. Under the agreement, the YMCA will be entitled to 10 percent of the center's gross revenue.
"There's going to be a four-month evaluation period where we're going to be making suggestions on how we can achieve our goals," Famiglietti said.
The YMCA has already developed a three-pronged approach by which to attack the problem. The first effort will be aimed at maximizing the use of the pool through swimming lessons, exercise classes and other programs.
"That place really needs to be utilized," Famiglietti said, adding that coaxing more competitive swim teams to the facility will also be part of the plan.
"We're also going to try to maximize usage of the ancillary rooms they have for fitness and hopefully expand upon that," he said.
Finally, the YMCA proposes the creation of a children's summer day camp program at the center next year.
"We feel this particular agreement, bringing in YMCA as a management company, will be a win-win for Nassau County," said county Legislator Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury), the Legislature's presiding officer.
Jacobs first brought the Aquatic Center's financial troubles to light, calling an October 2002 hearing on the matter. She strongly opposed privatizing the center, which over the past several months appeared to be an option the county was leaning toward.
The YMCA takeover does not constitute privatization, however, as the organization will only manage the facility and train county staff. Its recommendations on how to improve the Aquatic Center will be subject to county approval. "It's a very unique kind of setup," Famiglietti said.
Not everyone, however, is thrilled about the setup. Harold Peterson, of Rockville Centre, who regularly swims at the Aquatic Center, has already expressed reservations about the county's decision to hire the YMCA. "I read the contract, and I'm concerned about some of the stipulations," said Peterson, who chaired the Aquatic Center User Advisory Group formed by county Parks Commissioner Doreen Banks last October.
He worries that the YMCA will turn the $30 million, world-class facility into a recreation center and believes the county should instead try to attract more big-time swimming and diving competitions. "That's what it's designed for," he said. "It's only one of five other facilities like it in the nation."
Peterson also expressed concerns over the terms of the contract, and doesn't think the YMCA should get 10 percent of the center's gross revenue. "I really don't think the county thought this one out as they should," he said. "I think there are better alternatives available."
