New YMCA Project Slowed By Pandemic And Other Issues
Mahaska County YMCA as construction continues in December 2021.
December 11, 2021
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The community of Oskaloosa and the people of Mahaska County have been waiting for the doors at the new Mahaska County YMCA to open fully. They may be waiting a while longer.
In a recent interview with current YMCA CEO Matt Larson, tremendous progress has occurred while facing challenges with the new facility building process.
The Early Learning Center has opened later than expected for the 2021 school year, welcoming students on September 15th, 2021.
SEIDA’s Headstart program, Oskaloosa School District 4-year-old preschool, is housed in that facility, along with the YMCA’s licensed child care. “We’ve got three agencies taking care of infant through 4 year old,” says Larson. “Everybody’s teaching for the future of Oskaloosa.”
For the recreation side of the facility, Larson is the first to say there’s been a “snag” with the pool for the new facility. “We’re working through the quality of the pool and how we want it to be constructed, specifically the lap pool.”
Larson says that the entities responsible are “working with the owner of the construction company to make sure that what is being built for us is going to be right, and right from the beginning, and we don’t want to have any issues coming down the line.”
“So to do that means that you’ve got to have the experts, and you’ve got to have everybody following the steps, which takes time,” added Larson. “But at the same time, we are still progressing forward on the rest of the recreation side of the YMCA.”
On a walk-through of the facility, work continued on the basketball gym, racquetball courts, and sheetrocking in other parts of the facility, including the fitness center upstairs.
When it comes to a date the doors will be open, Larson says he doesn’t know when that will be yet. “It goes back to that pool.”
“So if it’s one month or four months,” added Larson. “I can definitely tell you that there’s work through the whole building that would need to be accomplished.”
Larson says that the city of Oskaloosa has brought in third-party pool people to also advise that “we’re getting all the right expert opinions to get the best solution moving forward.”
“We’re all in this together, and we all want two beautiful, amazing pools. So we want it done right,” added Larson. “If that takes us time, we will take the time, because at the end, we’re going to do it right.”
That longevity for the facility has been a leading focal point of the project from the beginning. The current YMCA facility has been in use since 1969, and multiple generations have used and enjoyed that facility. Larson says that same longevity, “three, four generations worth of families,” will benefit from the new facility. “So let’s do it right the first time.”
Larson wants to remind folks that the current YMCA location is still open “if they’re looking to get healthier.”
Things like youth basketball and cheerleading will be coming up in January, and registration is open right now.
If you’d like to learn more about the Mahaska County YMCA and its many different programs and facilities, you can find them on their website https://www.mahaskaymca.org/
