Yelm residents will not vote on whether to approve construction of a YMCA this fall during the Nov. 5 election.
Yelm City Council members fulfilled Mayor Joe DePinto’s request at July 23’s meeting, unanimously approving to remove Ordinance No. 1118 from the meeting’s agenda, which if approved, would have turned the fate of a Yelm YMCA branch over to the voters.
Before the council unanimously agreed to remove the item from the meeting’s agenda, DePinto said, after speaking with Yelm Community Schools (YCS) Superintendent Chris Woods, South Sound YMCA CEO Kyle Cronk, Yelm city councilors and others, there was a concern that a city bond to build the recreation facility with a swimming pool would detract from YCS’s educational programs and operations levy efforts.
“It seems likely that following the double school levy failure earlier this year, that we’ll likely see another levy attempt next year in February of 2025,” DePinto said. “As much as I want a Yelm branch YMCA to come to fruition, I want even more for our students in our community to have a proper education and the school services they deserve.”
DePinto added that slowing down the process of bringing a YMCA to Yelm will allow for the City of Yelm to consider alternative funding sources, such as a metropolitan parks district. He said that delaying the process will also allow the city to better communicate the topic of bringing a branch to Yelm with community members.
Councilor Brian Hess was curious as to why, when councilors brought up potential issues of the YCS levy and the city bond overlapping, their comments weren’t taken to heart?
“We asked during a study session about the levy, would this interfere? We asked two weeks ago, would this interfere with the levy? In fact, two weeks ago you stated that the City of Yelm residents supported the levy, and you believe they’d support the YMCA,” Hess said. “You even said you’ve been working on this since 2016, and I’m just wondering what’s the change of heart when you’re pushing?”
The mayor said Hess’s questions were valid, adding that he doesn’t necessarily think the city’s bond measure would fail.
“I don’t think this would fail if it was put out to the people. I do think it would impact the school’s ability to pass their levy. That being said, I don’t want to jeopardize that. It’s more important that we support the schools in their efforts,” DePinto said. “I’m one of the biggest proponents of bringing a ‘Y’ into Yelm. I would love that to happen. I do think we’re ready. I do think we’ve done enough due diligence, and our partners have as well. But it’s more important to pass the levy.”
Cronk, who attended the meeting virtually, thanked Hess for his question. He added that the councilors’ questions at previous meetings have been incredibly influential.
“The thought was there might be a rerun [of the YCS levy] in February of 2025, and if that was the case, going now [with the bond] could affect that,” Cronk said.
He added that it’s smart to get community leaders talking with each other to ensure they’re “rowing in the right direction” to support local kids and families.
