Tonight at 7:30 in Room 335 of City Hall, Recreation Department Director Luis DePina will offer a presentation on repurposing, reopening, renovating and reviving the YMCA in downtown Norwich that sank in a sea of red ink at the end of this past April.
Its sudden closure (there was a very angry and very loud informational meeting in City Council chambers organized by then-Mayor Benjamin Lathrop that many felt did little, aside from throw a member of the YMCA Board of Directors under the wheels of the bus) sent shock waves through this city and sparked a lot of "we've got to do something!" comments from a lot of people who meant well, but had close to no idea about what to at all.
Mr. DePina who runs a highly-regarded municipal Recreation Department with many different program offerings for a wide variety of citizens of all ages, would, I'm sure, be the first to admit that trying to operate a facility which failed to break even for most of this decade would be a challenge in the best of economic times, and these, most certainly, are not the best of economic times.
Every time there's stories in local newspapers about resuscitating the YMCA, there's always readers' comments about how the programs and facility are needed and how important they are, which (to me) misses the point. Of course, the programs were an integral part of many families' lives and routines. No one is suggesting otherwise--the trouble is we are in a time when our will is much larger than our wallets.
That's what you should listen for tonight when you go to the presentation. I want to gain a better understanding of how the facility rental and operating costs will be funded without adding to the Norwich residents' current tax burdens. Tonight's meeting promises to offer a roster of public sector agencies, like NFA and the Norwich Public Schools, who can outline what programs they hope to shift, and pay a fee for, to the YMCA, creating a source of income. That's all well and good except...
These agencies have NO money of their own. Their operating budget comes from our taxes. Every dollar they expend, or save, belongs to us. So, we're taking money from our left pocket, putting it in our right pocket and are then pleased to find 'extra' money. Adds a whole new meaning to 'fuzzy logic.' Taking six inches from the front of the blanket and putting it on the back WILL NOT make the blanket a foot longer, no matter how many PowerPoint slides you have to the contrary.
And the ripples in the pond effect being what it is, if those programs currently beyond the city limits are brought 'back' to Norwich, what happens to those who were providing them now and who augments their operating budgets? Welcome to Unintended Consequences, Population: us. The sound you are hearing is that of John Donne's bell, tolling for someone whose name you may not (yet) know, but who will turn out to be one of us.
I, too, want to believe the acquisition of the YMCA will cost Norwich taxpayers no money, except you get what you pay for. An important listening point tonight will be those programs to be offered, and compare it to the list of the ones the former YMCA had, all of which lost money, and that will NOT be a part of the 'new' YMCA. Those were called non-sustaining for a reason. What was true then remains true now.
So go tonight and root for a fact-based presentation that makes and proves its case for taxpayer support for community-wide benefit. It's wonderful to believe we can do more with less-but the time is long past to finally accept that we must learn to do LESS with less. Some truths are truisms despite our wishes to the contrary.
-bill kenny
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