Even if you aren’t interested in reading on to why I joined the Wood River Community YMCA Cabinet Team, I’d encourage you to read this prayer/pledge which encapsulates my belief in the value of children to our society. In a nutshell, the core reason I joined the Y “team” is I believe the uterine lottery shouldn’t determine whether someone has a place to swim, a safe/fun place to hangout after school or in the evenings (when most kids get in trouble), or a place to learn how to skate, climb, etc. From a pure bottomline financial perspective, there is a up to a $3.56 ROI on every dollar spent on after school programs such as what the Y puts on when compared with the costs to society of substance abuse, crime, etc. Here’s an astonishing fact — the Y is already serving 1000 people in the valley today more than a year before their main facility doors open! More thoughts/details below. Here’s the pledge/prayer…

A Prayer/Pledge of Responsibility for Children

We pray (accept responsibility) for children who sneak Popsicle’s before supper, who erase holes in math workbooks, who can never find their shoes.

And we pray (accept responsibility) for those who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire, who can’t bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers, who never “counted potatoes,” who were born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead, who never go to the circus, who live in an X-rated world.

We pray (accept responsibility) for those who bring sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.

And we pray (accept responsibility) for those who never get dessert, who have no safe blanket to drag behind them, who watch their parents watch them die, who can’t even find bread to steal, who don’t have any rooms to clean up, whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser, whose monsters are real.

We pray (accept responsibility) for children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday, who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food, who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes under the bed and never rinse out the tub, who get visits from the tooth fairy, who don’t like to be kissed in front of the carpool, who squirm in church or temple and scream in the phone, whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray (accept responsibility) for those whose nightmares come in the daytime, who will eat anything, who have never seen a dentist, who aren’t spoiled by anyone, who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep, who live and move but have no being.

We pray (accept responsibility) for children who want to be carried and for those who must, for those we never give up on and for those who don’t get a second chance. For those we smother and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

Adapted from Ina J. Hughs

Unfortunately, we have most of the situations outlined above present even here in our idyllic valley.

As I progressively got educated on what the Wood River Community YMCA is already doing and is planning to do, I became a progressively bigger advocate. I could go on and on but here’s this Dave’s top 10 list of the reasons I’m a Y backer…
1. My personal experience of having a place like the Y as a kid that was a veritable fun factory for me as I loved just about any sport you could think of and the Y had an outlet for me regardless of the weather. Perhaps more importantly, many of the most important lessons in life came through sports — goal setting, discipline, team work, dealing with success/failure, etc. Without knowing it at the time, it was these things that “inoculated” me from high risk activities that kids who don’t participate in extracurricular activities are susceptible to.
2. The Y doesn’t turn anyone away who would like to use their facility (see my uterine lottery comment above). In fact, the pro forma for this Y is that 1/3 of the members will pay 90% less than the regular membership dues due to the sliding scaling membership fees that uses the honor system on your income.
3. They already have huge traction today serving 1000 people today long before their doors open. Their expected membership in their financial plans has 1000 to make it self-sustaining. They are virtually there today.
4. It will help the local economy. The #1 weakness sited by a survey done by visitors is there isn’t enough to do for kids/adults after skiing particularly since most people don’t ski full days. I think the figure was 64% had this as an issue that was driving where they’d take their next trip. This doesn’t even take into account the one-time $18M impact from the building project that is using many local tradespeople and companies. The Y walks the talk in shopping locally by using local suppliers/contractors wherever possible.
5. Until the Y opens, there hasn’t been a kid-friendly pool that is open year-round. The slide, zero depth pool, lazy river, etc. is like nothing we’ve seen in the valley.
6. They are geared up for after school programs while their parents finish up their workdays. Something you hear from teenagers, in particular, is the lack of substance free activities outside of school. The Y’s Teen Activity Center has been designed for and by teens. Transportation has also been addressed in their plans so kids can come/go from various spots in the valley.
7. It will be a great way to spread out the traffic heading north/south everyday as people will work out before or after work to avoid the peak commute thus saving them time and lowering their stress not to mention the people who will commute at the regular time and will have fewer cars to contend with. That may also have a spillover effect in helping Ketchum come alive after the workday.
8. Something I hear from longtime locals is how there used to be the feel that this was one big community that wasn’t segmented by income, etc. I believe the Y has a great potential to be a unifier as regardless of age, income, etc. you can be a full member.
9. One of the great events here is Camp Rainbow Gold. Unfortunately, that’s not year-round (yet). The Y will have a Gilda’s Club where people/families dealing with cancer can go and share their experiences and work out without being self-conscious since they are amongst peers.
10. People across all income brackets have donated substantial amounts of money to get the Y to where it is today so it’s a community-wide effort. A $25 donation from someone can easily be as meaningful to them as a $1M donation from someone else. I’ve put my money where my mouth is at both a personal and professional level with a personal donation as well as SunValleyOnline being one of the first corporate sponsors.

If you’d like to join me in support of the Y, I’d be happy to chat with you and/or connect you with the folks at the Y. Another option is that people interested in the project can drop into the Y’s new offices at 105 Lewis St., Ste. 205, overlooking the Park & Ride lot. Informational presentations will be offered during “coffee talks,” held weekly on Thursdays at 9 a.m. Talks last 45 minutes. These are very informative whether you have cautious interest or even are skeptical.

I’ve had the pleasure to work with internationally recognized non-profits including ones that have been scrutinized by the stringent criteria of the Gates Foundation (who later gave them major gifts). The leaders/staff of those organizations are extraordinary. I can state unequivocally that Teresa Beahen and her staff are right up there with the best non-profit staffs I’ve seen. We’re blessed to have them serving our community and hope you get a chance to meet them.

Notwithstanding the emotional need for a YMCA at the park and ride lot (I voted in favor of it) I am now concerned that the financial risks are greater than I thought.

My questions, among others, are these:

1. Of the projected “adult capture rate” I would assume the adults would come from those who are already interested in their physical well being. To my mind the vast majority of those adults are already members of one of the several clubs now in place. How many Zenergy members will migrate from an upscale fitness center to the YMCA? How many will leave the SVAC and the likes of Richard Odum and Colleen Coyne? How many will leave the other small training facilities and their personal trainers? What studies were done to justify the adult capture rate or was the number a best guess? If there is a study, is it available at City Hall?

2. I Worry about the number of Blaine County adults who will join and drive to a north valley YMCA. What is the percentage of total adults living south of say, East Fork. Were any studies done on the inclination of those adults to join? If so, where is the study?

3. The dues for the first year of operation are higher then the SV Athletic Club’s, and are projected to rise 3% per year over the term of the projections. Was any research done to determine the elasticity of demand? Are there studies that show how many people are projected to migrate to the YMCA in light of this higher prices? Can the YMCA command an annual price increase? Are there any studies?

4. Was a business model developed that showed no increase in membership rates? Was one developed that modeled the membership rate to be the same as the SVAC? What did the financials look like when modified?

5. The financial modeling is based upon 2000 Blaine county population statistics and a Woods and Poole State profile done in 2001. Was there a study done using only Ketchum/Sun Valley population statistics? What, if any adjustments should be made to the assumption in the light of the recent trend of families moving to the south valley and Ketchum becoming the land of the invisible homes? If the study was done, is it in City Hall?

As stewards of Ketchum’s future I trust you looked at studies such as these. If not then I ask the candidates if they think such further review is appropriate.

Should the City forego other options and commit the land (valued at several million dollars) to a one dollar per year, 50 year lease if the real due diligance has not been done?