YMCA eyes large new Wasilla recreation center as city council hits pause on support

What you need to know:

• The Wasilla City Council voted this week to indefinitely postpone a resolution supporting a proposed new YMCA facility until a city-funded feasibility study on expanding the Menard Center is completed, likely by late 2026.
• The YMCA of Alaska wants to build a large recreation center in Wasilla featuring a fitness area, basketball courts, an Olympic-sized pool, child care and group classes. Officials hope to open the facility within five years. 
• Some city council members said they support the YMCA but want to make sure the facility will not conflict with other city-funded recreation efforts. YMCA officials said they will continue to work on the project. 

• Short on time but need the local news scoop? Get free weekly news in your inbox for Mat-Su, from Mat-Su.

WASILLA — The Wasilla City Council this week put on hold a resolution supporting construction of a YMCA facility on property purchased from the city until members can review a not-yet-started strategic overview of the city’s recreation center.

The YMCA of Alaska is looking to build an 80,000-square-foot center in Wasilla with a fitness area, basketball courts, and the Mat-Su’s first Olympic-sized pool, organization officials said in an interview Tuesday. The facility would also offer child care and group fitness classes, they said.

YMCA officials said they want to expand in Wasilla because the area needs more affordable recreation options and the city is centrally located in the region. Parcels under consideration include city-owned land near the Bumpus Recreation Area and adjacent to the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, they said. They hope to open the new facility within five years, they said.

The proposed resolution declared Wasilla's support for building the facility within city limits, granted the YMCA of Alaska permission to review city-owned land for the project, and affirmed the city’s intent to work with the organization on a potential land sale.

While all council members and Wasilla Mayor Glenda Ledford said they support the YMCA’s programming and want it in the area, several said they want to wait to officially back the project until completion of a city-funded study on whether to expand the Menard Center or offer new programs in the existing facility.

“I believe that we need to make sure that Wasilla is taken care of before we get the idea that we're going to do something else,” Ledford said during a city council meeting Monday.

The Menard Center feasibility study is scheduled to begin late this year, with results expected in late 2026, city officials said Monday.

Council member Stuart Graham objected to throwing support behind a private entity that may be good for residents but might not be in the best interest of the city government. 

“Putting this in here that we say we're going to work collaboratively with them to take over some of our land — I think it's completely inappropriate and should be stricken,” he said during the meeting.

The council voted 3-3 to indefinitely postpone the YMCA support resolution, with Ledford casting the tie-breaking vote in favor of the delay. Council members Ian Crafton, Nikki Velock, and Mark Schmidt voted to keep the resolution moving forward.

Operated under the umbrella of the national YMCA nonprofit with nearly 3,000 recreation facilities, the YMCA of Alaska offers several programs throughout the state. 

In Anchorage, the YMCA runs a 75,000-square-foot recreation, fitness, and pool facility, it's only such center in the state. In Mat-Su, they offer before- and after-school child care, swimming lessons and basketball programs. 

YMCA of Alaska also operates a summer camp off the George Parks Highway and is actively expanding its child care offerings to Kodiak, according to its website. The organization is funded through grants and donations.

A decades-old YMCA of Alaska plan calls for the nonprofit to open a facility in the Wasilla area due to the region’s growing population, YMCA of Alaska Director Nate Root said in an interview Tuesday.

Root said he was disappointed by the council’s decision but understands the desire for a delay. 

He said the YMCA will move forward with feasibility studies and explore land options both within city limits and nearby in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. He said the YMCA does not want to compete with existing city or borough recreation services. 

“What I loved hearing in that meeting was that everyone vocalized support for a YMCA, and everyone vocalized on some level the positive impact that the YMCA could have on the community,” Root said. “We expect to be very open with the council on our process and how we're going to move forward, because it's really important to us that the community is invested in the Y coming out there from the very beginning.”

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com