County commissioners agreeable to support PRYMCA building reopening
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Earlier this month the board of directors announced that operations at the Piscataquis Regional YMCA at 48 Park Street in Dover-Foxcroft would be closing no later than Friday, Nov. 1. Several days after the announcement Old Town Orono YMCA CEO Scott Wilcox hosted a mid-afternoon webinar in which he cited the financial reasons for the facility closure.
The Oct. 4 shuttering announcement said aftereffects of the pandemic, reduction in memberships, programming, and declining public funds proved to be a combination of obstacles too great to continue operations. As a result of the declining revenues and escalating expenses it was a clear decision that operations were financially unsustainable. The PRYMCA has been in operation since 1988.
In July 2022 the board of directors for the two organizations formally voted to integrate as one organization. For almost two years prior the Old Town Orono YMCA had been providing leadership to the PRYMCA through a temporary management agreement. In the 2-plus years since then the PRYMCA operated as a branch of the Old Town Orono YMCA.
“We are more than willing to work with people that have a business plan that want to work with us for the transition of that facility to somebody else,” Wilcox said during the Zoom session.
Since then a group in Piscataquis County has formed with the intention of reopening as a community center. Jason Brochu, who had spent about a decade on the PRYMCA board of directors prior to the pandemic, told the Piscataquis County Commissioners about these plans during a meeting on Tuesday morning, Oct. 15.
Brochu said the group — which includes other former board members — was put together “to get the assets returned so we can open a community center,” as Old Town Orono YMCA officials agreed this would be the right thing to do for Piscataquis County.
The local organization would be a non-profit organization but it would not operate under the YMCA banner. “There’s benefits to being a YMCA and benefits to not being a YMCA,” Brochu said.
“It can fully support itself minus the pool, pun not intended but the pool is a drain,” he said.
Brochu said the pool is the biggest asset of the facility, being the only indoor swim area in the region. He said an estimated $50,000 to $100,000 would be annually to have the pool in operation. This was always a financial challenge for the PRYMCA, Brochu added.
He asked the commissioners if they would be willing to contribute some county monies toward reopening the facility and/or for the pool. Brochu said the current focus is getting everything else open but the pool will be a future consideration.
“I think if we get $50,000 sustained that would be enough to keep the pool going and provide it to the community,” Brochu said.
When asked County Manager Michael Williams said he would have to look into county finances to see what could potentially be contributed. “We have the budget pretty tight right now,” he said, with the budget committee currently meeting on the county and Unorganized Territory spending plans to have these set for the commissioners’ approval by a December meeting.
He said he would look at the budget “to see what we’ve got and what we haven’t got.”
Commissioners Chair Andy Torbett said there is a grant application process through the county and the group is invited to apply.
“We appreciate anything you can do, we are going to pass the hat,” Brochu said as the group will be presenting to towns around the region.
In other business, Williams said the annual public hearing on the budgets is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 18 in the commissioners chambers at the Peaks House.
He said the hearing is typically held the Monday after Thanksgiving, but in 2024 this Monday would be in December. The session needs to be held more than 30 days before the end of the year and Monday, Dec. 2 would be 29 days or one less than is required.