The YMCA of Greater Des Moines will once again get extra time to repay a $6.4 million loan it owes to Polk County.
The county supervisors on Tuesday, July 28, unanimously approved the Y’s request to defer payment for at least another year after granting a two-year extension in October 2023 with the option to extend for an additional year, according to a Polk County memo. The YMCA’s payments were supposed to begin Nov. 1.
Still dealing with financial problems, the organization is eligible for up to two additional year-long extensions. But under the contract, the Y will have to pay the balance or agree to new loan terms by July 1, 2031.
The county approved the bridge loan to the Y in June 2022 to help refinance its long-term debt. The monthly payments are $32,882, the contract shows.
The Y experienced a substantial loss of membership and program participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. But its financial struggles began well before the pandemic, with leaders blaming a combination of rapid expansion, the growth of competing gyms and the rising costs of maintaining and modernizing facilities.
The effects of the Y’s financial strains included the closure of the former South Suburban YMCA at 401 E Army Post Road, which is now home to the Des Moines Police Department’s training facility.
In 2021, Y leaders said the organization would sell the Wellmark YMCA at 501 Grand Ave. in downtown Des Moines to Chicago-based Celadon Properties, which planned to convert a portion of the complex into 70 housing units and lease 70,000 square feet back to the Y for a fitness center. But it failed to close the deal.
Y chief says it has reduced debt substantially
Still, the Y has reduced its overall debt by more than half since 2018 with the help of county and community support, YMCA Chief Marketing Officer Ruth Comer said in a statement Tuesday to the Des Moines Register.
“The debt deferral agreement unanimously approved today by the Board of Supervisors is part of a collaborative effort to identify viable, long-term options for maximizing the use of space available at the Wellmark YMCA facility for the mutual benefit of the Y and the downtown community,” Comer wrote.
Two projects — a $3 million revamp of the Walnut Creek YMCA and updates to the YMCA Supportive Housing Campus, a facility at 2 SW Ninth St. for people at risk of homelessness — are funded through targeted grants and private donations, she added.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Supervisor Jill Altringer expressed concern over the county’s role when loans it makes go into default or are extended without payment.
“I will vote for this. I just think that we need to take a closer look as we’re handling these loans that are currently out there, and when groups come to us asking for loans in the future,” Altringer said, adding there are other loans in the books for which the county isn’t receiving payments.
“That does cost our taxpayers money,” she said.
Polk County Administrator Frank Marasco said his goal is to work with the YMCA to make this year’s deferment the organization’s last.
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines and Polk County government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines YMCA gets an extension on its loan — again. For how long?
Reporting by Virginia Barreda, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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By Virginia Barreda, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
