Sherwood is negotiating with YMCA of Columbia-Willamette to sell the popular sports and recreation facility to the organization for $5 million.
The city government owns the building, but it’s been operated by the YMCA under a service agreement with the city for nearly 25 years.
The YMCA opened on Sunset Avenue in September 1998. At the time, and since, it was hailed as a unique partnership between a public and private entity, with the YMCA serving as operator of the building and organizing its programs.
Even if it sells the building, the city would retain its ownership of the adjacent skateboard park and an undeveloped parcel of land on the northern portion of the property.
On March 2 and March 9, Sherwood hosted two town hall-type meetings so residents could ask questions about the proposed purchase of both city and YMCA officials.
Sherwood City Manager Keith Campbell said the city and YMCA, often referred to simply as the “Y,” have been negotiating the sale of the building for a while.
“The city and the Y were working on what would be in the mutual best interests of both parties and the decision to move forward to sell is the outcome of these conversations,” Campbell wrote in an email.
In a news release, Campbell said the YMCA and the city will look into continuing and enhancing services.
“We look forward to working with our community members to best determine how we can reinvest the proceeds of this sale into our future park and trail enhancements,” Campbell stated.
Tyler Wright, YMCA of Columbia-Willamette president and chief executive officer, praised the city and its staff who worked to bring the proposal to fruition.
“This purchase will give the Y the opportunity to create new and exciting programs and to look at future facility improvement and potential expansions as we continue serving the families and residents of Sherwood,” he said.
Sherwood voters approved a 1996 general obligation bond to build the facility. City officials signed a 20-year operating agreement with the YMCA of Columbia-Willamette to allow them to operate it.
With the original agreement expiring, the Sherwood City Council publicly considered the possibility of discontinuing the city’s partnership with the YMCA and instead signing with a Minnesota-based health and fitness company to provide recreational services to city residents.
The discussion sparked an outcry. At one point, more than 100 people crowded into council chambers to protest the idea of bringing in an out-of-state company to operate the facility.
The brouhaha in large part fueled the 2017 recall of then-city councilors Jennifer Harris and Sally Robinson. Then-Mayor Krisanna Clark-Endicott also faced recall, but she resigned the same day she was required to submit a statement of justification that required that she explain her actions or face recall. She said at the time she was resigning to move to Redmond to be with her new husband, Redmond Mayor George Endicott.
In January 2018, Sherwood signed a five-year operating agreement with the YMCA, allowing an option for an additional five years.
At the time, then-city manager Joe Gall said, “There is a need to rebuild this partnership. There are trust issues and hurt feelings, for lack of better words, and we need to rebuild.”