Muncie YMCA Move To Tuhey Included In Draft 5-Year Parks Plan
A controversial proposal to relocate the private Muncie YMCA to the public Tuhey Park is included in a draft parks and recreation master plan created by the city. As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, the parks board wants to hear community feedback on the plan in April.
The proposed 5-year plan calls for individual plans for each of the 29 city parks within an overall parks strategy. These aren’t included in the draft, however.
What is included in the introduction is this line: “There is also some discussion with the YMCA about having the Tuhey Park site used for a new community YMCA that would replace the existing two facilities.”
This proposal, introduced to the community in November and discussed at a special meeting called by Muncie City Council members in December, drew criticism from many community members. Local neighborhood associations said Muncie residents shouldn’t have to pay to use private facilities on public land already supported by tax dollars.
After that special meeting ran several hours, now-City Council President Jeff Robinson had advice for Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour, who supported the project.
“I would urge the YMCA to continue to investigate other, more suitable options – something that the community can be in favor of.”
In the 61-page draft, Tuhey Park is not listed in a five-year “priority action” schedule that focuses on modern playground equipment and ADA-compliant upgrades. On the city’s list of park assets, Tuhey’s ADA-accessible status is listed as “Needs assessment.” And the YMCA plan is not mentioned anywhere but in the introduction.
But one of the major points the report spells out for the board to consider is “barrier-free, Universal Access to city parks and recreation programs.”
The Muncie Parks and Recreation Board is asking for public comment on the plan at its next meeting – Thursday, April 1st at 6:00 pm at City Hall. The board says the meeting will be streamed on Facebook Live, but the board will not be answering questions or comments from that live stream.