The New YMCA Facility Opens In Oskaloosa

The new Mahaska County YMCA on North Green Street in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The new YMCA facility in Oskaloosa opened its doors to the public the first week in August, and the interest in the facility and its offerings has generated significant interest.

The project has been a long-time coming, with the groundbreaking taking place during the early days of COVID-19.

Then a dispute between the City of Oskaloosa and the project’s general contractor has broken out regarding the swimming pools that are to be a part of the facility.

Until that dispute has been settled and the pools are built, the swimming pool at the old location will continue to serve the community.

The City of Oskaloosa is the facility owner, and the YMCA is the operator.

The building is a partnership between the Mahaska County YMCA, The Oskaloosa School District, and the City of Oskaloosa, each contributing funds to the project.

Katy Green with the Mahaska County YMCA has been very busy hosting tours of the new facility for interested community members.

The membership price has not increased just because the Y is in its new location. The only thing that’s changed is the amenities and the equipment.

Green said that some of the feedback she’s been getting from visitors is that the new facility is fancier than they expected, but for Green she’s not surprised as there’s been years of work put into the new facility.

The focus will now turn to expanding group fitness and sports programming. “But at first, we wanted to just get our feet wet and see how it goes,” said Green, who had learned from other new Y’s. “That was some of the suggestions or feedback that they [other new Y’s] had shared as they tried to start all these new things with their new buildings, and it was a little chaotic. So we decided to kind of come in and stick to our regular schedules.”

The new building has helped with a recent surge in new memberships and check-ins from those members. There’s been a significant increase in the number of check-ins.

The new YMCA also makes an excellent place for people to socialize. “It has plenty of options for socalization,” says Green. “We knew when we opened this facility that we were going to be the place that teens wanted to be, and so we have used that in planning.”

The YMCA has many more missions besides physical fitness and activity. And for adults and seniors, there are many opportunities to socialize. “We’ve made spaces for just socialization and visiting,” Green explained. “We’ve seen a lot of pickup of people just hanging out.”

The staff at the Mahaska County YMCA might be able to take a deep breath of relief now that the new facility is open, but there are so many things yet to do and people to help.

For Green, it’s still a bit shocking to walk into a building where it was quiet for so long while there was work being done to prepare for the public’s arrival.

“Im kind of still in a little bit of shock that people are here,” says Green. “I was so used to working over here by mayself all day, that I’m not used to having people in the building. We’re so excited to have people enjoy it and see that there has been a lot of hard work put into this facility.”

Green encourages people to come and take a tour anytime.

An official ribbon-cutting ceremony is slated for August 27th.

You can visit the Mahaska County YMCA at their website by clicking HERE. https://www.mahaskaymca.org/