YMCA struggle for land at Turquoise and Cedar has been long and bruising

By Dan Frazier
Tea Party Editor 

Years of quiet planning and months of not-so-quiet community debate could be on the line as early as May 7 when a proposal to build a YMCA at the corner of Cedar Avenue and Turquoise Drive may go to a vote of the Flagstaff City Council. The proposal has been controversial in part because it involves building on the edge of McMillan Mesa, a large undeveloped plateau in the heart of Flagstaff. The forested corner lot is traversed by a section of the Flagstaff Urban Trail System. The proposal has been opposed by some environmentalists, as well as a number of residents who live near the proposed construction site. In addition, representatives of Flagstaff’s existing health and fitness facilities have expressed concern about how a large YMCA might impact their businesses. 

The proposal has taken a long time to get to this point. The course of events can be roughly traced through public records obtained by FTP from Mayor Joe Donaldson’s office, as well as from published reports in the Arizona Daily Sun. The process apparently started in 1996 or early 1997 when a steering committee formed in Flagstaff to explore the possibility of starting a YMCA chapter in Flagstaff. In October of 1997, three outside YMCA professionals came to Flagstaff at the invitation of the steering committee and interviewed 32 “key community leaders” in an effort to gauge whether or not Flagstaff was likely ready to support a YMCA.  

The available documents do not indicate who was interviewed, or who was on the steering committee. However, the documents do indicate that Becky Senseman Lewis was involved in arranging the interviews. Lewis is also the president of the Flagstaff Soccer Club, a tax-exempt organization providing youth soccer opportunities. Lewis and her father, Bob Senseman, are current YMCA board members, with Lewis being one of the most vocal supporters of the proposal to build a YMCA at Turquoise and Cedar.  

Among the 10 observations and recommendations resulting from the interviews were these: 

* Flagstaff is a strong, caring community with many citizens ready to volunteer in a cooperative venture to improve the quality of life for all persons. 

* The fees-for-service aspect of the Parks and Recreation Department’s programs has led to a perceived program cost beyond the reach of many people with no clear vehicle to subsidize low income families. 

* There does not appear to be a sense of urgency to start a YMCA in Flagstaff.  

Despite these mixed observations, based on the interviews, the steering committee was advised to move ahead with the process of formally creating a founders committee, raising funds and becoming a chapter of the Valley of the Sun YMCA, headquartered in Phoenix. 

Thus the Flagstaff Family YMCA was born. Since then, the Flagstaff Family YMCA, working out of an office on Fourth Street, has undertaken an ambitious slate of programs, for youth, including summer camping programs, youth basketball, swimming lessons, and more, all without the benefit of its own facility. Often the local YMCA has used school facilities for its programs. 

In August of 2000, local YMCA representatives Melissa Bowen and Lavelle McCoy made a presentation before the city Parks and Recreation Commission. Bowen is currently the executive director of the Flagstaff Family YMCA. McCoy is on the local YMCA board and is the president of McCoy Motors, an auto dealership. During the presentation it was explained that the YMCA intended to ask the City Council for five to seven acres of land near the Jay Lively Ice Rink in order to build a $3 million YMCA facility. The presentation was for informational purposes only and the proposal was not discussed by the commission. 

During the following months, YMCA representatives met repeatedly with various representatives of the city to discuss possible partnership arrangements between the city and the YMCA.  Several of these meetings involved Nanette Smejkal, Parks and Recreation Director. Also very involved was Bill Menard, Public Works Director. 

During these meetings, city staff questioned the YMCA about whether or not it would be acceptable for the city to build an aquatics center right next to the proposed YMCA facility, or perhaps integrate a city-owned aquatics center into the proposed YMCA facility. An aquatics center or pool facility at or near the proposed YMCA site had been proposed in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan as far back as 1972. In 1996, Flagstaff voters approved $500,000 for the design of a $5 million aquatics center. However, in May of 2001, the idea of building two facilities side by side raised concerns with the city’s Development Review Board during an informal meeting. City planners felt that the two proposed facilities might be too intensive a use for the site. However, the YMCA did not give up on the possibility of some kind of partnership or co-location of a YMCA facility and a municipal aquatics center.  

A memo from Bill Menard to City Manager Dave Wilcox recounts part of a Feb. 26, 2001 meeting between representatives of the YMCA and the city. “Consultants (from Winfield Consulting Group) ask staff what the city’s ‘offer’ is, and indicate that in an earlier discussion with the county, both land and funds were offered. Staff indicate that we had not received specific direction and (are) not in a position to provide an ‘offer’ to the Y.” 

By June, nearly a year after discussion had begun with the city, the YMCA was anxious to move forward. A letter to Smejkal from Bowen, made this clear: “As you are aware, the … YMCA is anxious to have a location identified as quickly as possible; allowing bonding and fund-raising to proceed uninhibited and accommodating an aggressive construction schedule.” 

However, there was a problem. The site the YMCA favored at Turquoise and Cedar, along with adjacent McMillan Mesa, was part of an area that was about to undergo an intensive master planning process to determine how the land should be developed — or preserved. McMillan Mesa, referred to as Switzer Mesa on some maps, is mostly undeveloped. It is best known to most Flagstaff residents as home to Buffalo Park, a 163-acre recreation area with trails and an ephemeral pond located in the shadow of Mt. Elden. The McMillan Mesa area planning process, sponsored by the city, would involve a series of public forums and presentations by consultants on how the open space on the mesa might be utilized.   

Bowen’s June 12 letter attempted to formally sum up the results of a meeting Bowen had apparently had with Smejkal: “The Master Plan of McMillan Mesa will be complete and a suitable site for the Flagstaff Family YMCA will be identified and committed to by November of this year,” wrote Bowen. 

A copy of the letter was sent to Mayor Joe Donaldson, Bill Menard, City Manager Dave Wilcox, and City Councilmember Allen Edgar.  

Wilcox knew the city could not make the commitment Bowen was implying had already been made. He immediately responded with a letter to Bowen June 14: “It is our understanding the Flagstaff Family YMCA capital campaign schedule can be revised to allow time for the McMillan Mesa area planning process to occur. We anticipate that this process will begin in July and take approximately six months to complete. The planning division will be presenting various scenarios that incorporate recreational land uses at public participation workshops. The outcome of the planning process will be the public’s determination of the preferred use(s) of McMillan Mesa. Following this determination, the City will be in a better position to discuss a specific site for the YMCA facility location and to negotiate a land lease.” 

As it happened, the public workshops to discuss the possible uses of the mesa did not begin until late September and the final report on the McMillan Mesa workshops was not released until last month. (see www.mcmillanmesa.net. Also see news brief in the May edition of FTP.) Most of the options developed during the workshops do not rule out the possibility of a YMCA on the corner of Turquoise and Cedar. 

The YMCA proposal for Turquoise and Cedar was formally discussed at a Parks and Recreation retreat July 18, 2001. A tape of the meeting was obtained by FTP. Representatives of the Flagstaff Family YMCA and the Valley of the Sun YMCA explained that they hoped to build a YMCA with a fitness center, indoor swimming pool, a youth and teen center, and a child care center.  

The YMCA said it had commissioned a market research study. The study involved focus groups, market audits, interviews with 30 YMCA program participants, and telephone interviews with over 400 residents. The telephone survey, conducted by The Winfield Consulting Group of Atlanta, had a margin of error of 4.6 percent. Based on its study, the YMCA came to a number of conclusions. For instance, it concluded that 20.4 percent of Flagstaff residents were likely to make use of a YMCA — five times the percentage typically found in other cities. Of those households interested in a Flagstaff YMCA, 67 percent were families. 

The YMCA said that it had studied four possible locations for its proposed facility. The southeast corner of Lone Tree Road and Butler Avenue was the most favored site in its market survey, followed by Turquoise and Cedar, a site near the Flagstaff Mall, and county property on Fort Valley Road. However, YMCA Executive Director Melissa Bowen explained that the Turquoise and Cedar site was favored by the YMCA board of directors mainly because it was centrally located city owned land, thus allowing for a possible partnership with the city. Bowen hoped that the city would lease the YMCA 5 to 7 acres of land for just $1 a year. In exchange, the YMCA would provide the city with various services, namely a first-class recreation and aquatics facility, at rates that were affordable to all Flagstaff residents. The YMCA hoped to have its facility up and running by 2004.  

Foreshadowing the public debate that would eventually follow, Parks and Recreation commissioners asked pointed questions about the YMCA proposal. One such question was whether or not other locations were still being considered for the proposed YMCA. 

John Youngberg, Valley of the Sun vice president of marketing and communications, said that the YMCA was still considering other locations, but added, “Our primary goal however is to work with the city. We do not want to have to purchase land unless we have to.” He stressed the importance of keeping costs down in order to make services affordable to the community.   

Noting that the YMCA proposed to charge $58 a month for a family membership, one commissioner pointed out that this amount was “not significantly cheaper” than what is currently charged by existing health and fitness clubs in the area.   

The YMCA stressed that nobody would be turned away for an inability to pay. Chuck Hammersley, a YMCA board member at the time, told the commission, “The last time I took my children to Flagstaff Athletic Club and told them that I wanted to use their outdoor pool, and told them that I didn’t have any money to pay but I’d like to use it anyway, I didn’t get very far. I’m just kidding, but you know I wouldn’t.” 

Despite the impassioned pitch by the YMCA, some commissioners seemed to be in no hurry to accommodate the YMCA’s request. Toward the end of the discussion, the conversation came back to the McMillan Mesa area planning process. One commissioner said, “We’re going to put a lot of money into this plan of the mesa … and I think we are jumping the gun” if we give the YMCA five acres prior to the planning process. 

But Melissa Bowen was undaunted. “I still have this vision in my mind that (Turquoise and Cedar) is the ideal site for a swimming pool, for a state of the art aquatics center for Flagstaff, and a Y …” said Bowen. “It just seems like we’re so close I can taste it.” 

A week later, many Flagstaff residents learned of the proposed YMCA facility for the first time when the Arizona Daily Sun ran the first of many front page stories about the proposal.   

The YMCA continued discussions with the city. On December 1, City Manager Dave Wilcox sent a memo to Melissa Bowen and Nanette Smejkal. It read in part: 

“On Nov. 28, representatives from the YMCA met with representatives from the city. At the end of the meeting all those in attendance voiced agreement that we had made significant progress toward understanding one another’s status and needs regarding a potential joint effort. The potential joint effort has a range of possibilities, we agreed, from a simple lease of city land to the YMCA to a joint project wherein YMCA and city facilities would be co-located, even integrated. 

“City representatives expressed support of the YMCA project and confidence in the likelihood that city property would be made available for a YMCA or YMCA/city project. Reasons were also explained as to why it would be inappropriate for the city to make a site-specific commitment before the McMillan Mesa Specific Area Plan is completed. …” 

The memo went on to say that the city would “work with the YMCA to develop a lease agreement drafted at this time without reference to a specific site.”In response to a question raised in the memo from Wilcox, Bowen replied with a letter clarifying the YMCA’s timeline: “We did state that March 2002 was the ‘drop-dead’ date with which we needed a firm city commitment. … There is a need to have identification of land for a YMCA site in January 2002, in order to continue our fund-raising efforts as well as our timeline of construction and opening dates.” 

By mid-December, the YMCA had begun lease negotiations with the city. By the end of January, a 25-year lease had been drafted. Apparently, the lease was a tentative proposal, and not a legally binding document. Presumably, it did not specify which land the city would provide to the YMCA. As part of the agreement, the YMCA would provide free and discounted services to city residents. The lease agreement has not been reviewed by FTP. However, the Arizona Daily Sun reported at the time that the value of the discounts was estimated to be about $125,000. The services to be provided by the YMCA to the city included year-round Saturday teen nights at the YMCA, some city use of the aquatics center, some city use of the gym for volleyball and basketball leagues, and meeting space for city functions. Because the YMCA agreed to provide all these services to the city, the draft lease agreement stipulated that the YMCA would only have to pay $1 per year for the land provided by the city. 

On January 25, Bill Calloway, president of the United Way of Northern Arizona and plant manager at the Purina pet food plant in Flagstaff, e-mailed Mayor Donaldson. “I just wanted to add my support to the proposed site for the YMCA. The Ralston Purina Foundation has donated $25,000 for a YMCA in Flagstaff. …” 

On January 28, 2002, the same day that the Daily Sun reported that a lease had been drafted, it reported in the same story that the City Council would be asked by the YMCA at that evening’s work session to remove the property at Turquoise and Cedar from the McMillan Mesa planning process. 

At the work session, the City Council chambers were filled to capacity, with most of one side of the chamber occupied by YMCA board members and other supporters.  On the other side of the aisle were mostly members of the McMillan Mesa Conservation Alliance and others who were generally opposed to removing the land at the corner of Turquoise and Cedar from the McMillan Mesa planning process.  

Unfortunately, problems with both the city’s audio and video recording equipment prevented the comments made at the meeting from being recorded. There are no minutes for the meeting. What’s more, FTP’s recording of the meeting has been lost. The meeting can only be pieced together from memory and what was reported in the Arizona Daily Sun. 

The YMCA, led by Melissa Bowen and the group’s newly hired spokesperson, Bonnie Holmes-Stevens, gave a Powerpoint presentation to the Council, reviewing much of the same ground that had previously been covered with the Parks and Recreation Commission. They talked about their market survey, the important values instilled by the YMCA, the efforts the YMCA had made to gather public comment, and the advantages of building a YMCA at Turquoise and Cedar, among other things. They talked about the $500,000 in bond money available from the Valley of the Sun YMCA that might be lost, along with other fund-raising opportunities, if the city did not commit to providing the necessary land very soon.  

But the Council was reluctant to remove the land from the McMillan Mesa planning process. Councilmember Al White disagreed with the YMCA’s contention that the community had voiced its desire for a YMCA at Turquoise and Cedar. 

“I would beg to differ and say that we are just starting to hear from the community,” said White. 

“Our McMillan Mesa planning process needs to be complete before we can commit,” said Councilmember Karen Cooper.  

The council wanted more time to review the draft lease between the city and the YMCA. The lease had been made available to the Council just three days before the meeting. There were also questions about whether the city-owned property at Turquoise and Cedar could be used to trade for one of the parcels of land atop the mesa held by private landowners. The matter was tabled for at least two weeks. 

Less than two weeks later, Mayor Joe Donaldson told the Sun, “Yes, we’re going to have a Y in Flagstaff. … We’re all pretty well committed to it. But the location seems to be what we have to decide on.” 

The City Council had never voted publicly on whether or not the city would give any land to the YMCA. Nonetheless, Donaldson’s statement was the clearest public indication yet that the city was committed to striking a deal with the YMCA. 

Around this time, Donaldson apparently began informal discussions with YMCA representatives and other interested parties about the possibility of a mediated or facilitated discussion concerning the YMCA proposal. But his idea of making the meetings open to the public did not interest the YMCA. Becky Lewis, a founding YMCA board member, e-mailed the mayor on Feb. 18. “Are you referring to your offer to bring the various parties together with the media to discuss the land lease when you mentioned that you tried to help with mediation but the YMCA refused your help? If so, the board and executive director have both indicated to me that the YMCA is more than willing to sit down with community members to discuss the YMCA and have already initiated such discussions. If you would like to bring everyone together WITHOUT the media, we will gladly meet. The presence of the media just increases the tension of the meeting.”  

A week later, on Feb. 25, Mayor Donaldson announced that there was going to be a special meeting March 20. “In an effort to move forward with the best interest of Flagstaff in mind, I am initiating a community discussion on the YMCA and McMillan Mesa. To assist us in achieving our goal of developing a community-supported solution that is best for Flagstaff, we have acquired the services of an independent facilitator with experience in conducting community-wide facilitated meetings. 

“The YMCA, McMillan Mesa interest groups, local health clubs like Flagstaff Athletic Club and the Firm, and many others will be invited. …” 

Donaldson made clear that the meeting would be open to the public and the press. 

The facilitator was to be David Brubaker, a senior partner with Cooperative by Design, a “peacebuilding consortium” based in Casa Grande. According to his resume, he is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Arizona, specializing in religious and organizational conflicts. Much of his 15 years of experience in this area has involved conflicts within and among protestant churches, especially Mennonite congregations. Brubaker would work closely with co-facilitator Gretchen Reinhardt while in Flagstaff. 

On Feb. 27, the Sun reported that the YMCA was surprised by the facilitated meeting that Donaldson had planned. 

Late in the day on the day after the Mayor’s announcement, Melissa Bowen told the Sun that she did not learn of the planned meeting until shortly before being contacted by the Sun. “The mayor never called and said, ‘We want to have a meeting,’ or anything like that.” 

Oddly, when announcing the meeting, the mayor explained that the March 20 date was “selected to accommodate the schedules of many of the stakeholders who could not meet any earlier.” The announcement did not indicate which stakeholders said they could not meet any earlier. An official Daily Sun editorial speculated that Donaldson’s motive for delaying the community discussion was political, noting that March 20 was after the March 12 mayoral primary election. Donaldson’s chief rival in the primary was Chris Bavasi, former mayor and current YMCA board member. 

The Sun, in at least three editorials, supported the YMCA proposal at Turquoise and Cedar. A Dec. 16 editorial concluded, “We don’t see why (the property) can’t be separated from the (McMillan Mesa) plan and leased to the YMCA without further ado — the recreational interests of the city and the Y appear to be congruent, but the latter can get the job done more quickly.” 

Weeks later, the Sun would accuse the mayor of acting alone to arrange the facilitated community discussion. An editorial said that the panelists involved in the discussion did not “have a mandate from the City Council, only from Mayor Joe Donaldson, who assembled them and paid for a facilitator.” 

The mayor responded publicly during the community discussion, “The Daily Sun reported today that I’m here on my own. I’m not. It takes four people on the Council at least to make a decision for the Council. The mayor is only one person on the Council. And the mayor can shoot off his mouth as much as he wants, and he can make all kinds of decisions, but unless he has the voice of the Council, there is no way the City Council or the city government would be spending this kind of money for this process, so I assure you there is the support of the Council there. I went to the Council and asked them, ‘This is the process. Can you take a look at it? What do you think?’ They said, ‘We support the open community process. Go for it.’ That’s why we’re here.” 

The Sun never published a correction. 

On March 5, Melissa Bowen sent an e-mail to Mayor Donaldson asking for more information about the March 20 meeting. The YMCA board had yet to make a decision about whether or not it would be participating in the meeting. 

Bowen wrote, “I was told by someone yesterday that there is a ‘Committee for a Classic Y,’ and that they, not you, are driving this meeting. This concerns me because I have never heard of this committee and what they are about. I will also tell you there is great trepidation on the board about this meeting. We want to cooperate, but as I said last week, we are concerned about a negative public meeting against the Y.” 

The mayor responded later that day with an e-mail message to Bowen. He began by reassuring her, “The goal (of the meeting) is to locate the YMCA, not debate the YMCA in any other aspect. … The Council and I want this to be a bringing together of the community to celebrate the coming of the YMCA.  Yes, the Council understands there will still be some opposition no matter what we do. But we are committed to making that decision. … We support the YMCA and want it to be located in an area that addresses the necessary financial support needed and provides an opportunity for the YMCA to meet its mission goals. That is as we discussed in Phoenix. … As for the ‘Committee for a Classic Y,’ I haven’t the slightest idea who they are.” 

Bowen’s e-mail to Mayor Donaldson was also sent simultaneously to Councilmember Bill Jefferey. Jefferey replied, “I think the people of Flagstaff want a Y. Although I can’t speak for the Mayor or the other Council members, my sense of the group is that a majority of the Council (including the Mayor) also want a Y in Flagstaff. … Our job is to decide what is in the best interests of the entire community, even if some people are unhappy about that decision.” Jeffery added that he had had not heard of the Committee for a Classic Y. 

Interestingly, FTP has obtained from the Mayor’s office a copy of an undated letter from Gwen Engel, activities director of the Flagstaff Athletic Club, to the Mayor. The letter, on FAC stationary, reads in part, “If you or any of your staff would like to be present at one of our Committee for a Classic YMCA meetings, I’m sure this could be arranged.” The letter does not elaborate on what the committee is about, or who is involved. 

On March 6, the YMCA saga took another unexpected turn when Stan Ritland, a developer who owns several undeveloped parcels atop McMillan Mesa, offered to donate five acres of property atop the mesa to the YMCA. The property was located about 1,000 feet south of Cedar Avenue, less than a mile from Turquoise and Cedar. Ritland also owns several other properties in near Turquoise and Cedar.  

The YMCA issued a press release announcing the development. YMCA Executive Director Melissa Bowen was quoted as saying, “We’re stunned, amazed and incredibly grateful all at the same time. We’re working very closely with Stan right now on the details of this donation.”  

The release quoted Ritland as saying, “I believe in the YMCA and the strengths it brings to individuals, families and communities. … After watching the struggle that the YMCA has had in trying to acquire land in our community, I feel that those who can help should come forward. And I believe I can help.” 

The Sun reported, “YMCA officials declined to say Tuesday whether they will attempt to build on the donated site or use it to trade for their preferred site at the corner of Turquoise Drive and Cedar Avenue.” 

Apparently, Ritland did not actually give the land to the YMCA. He merely offered to give the land for a YMCA facility. Nonetheless, the prospect of a large YMCA facility atop the Mesa worried many residents who hoped to preserve the mesa as open space. Suddenly, there was an extra incentive to consider giving the YMCA the land it wanted at the base of the mesa — land that many residents valued less than the land atop the mesa. 

On March 20, the facilitated meeting to discuss the YMCA was held at Flagstaff High School. Representatives of the YMCA were on hand, as were representatives of existing health and fitness facilities, representatives of environmental groups, representatives of the city, and others. At the meeting, facilitator David Brubaker laid the groundwork for the discussion, working to create a 15-member panel representative of the various stakeholders. This panel would try to reach consensus about where to locate the YMCA. More meetings were scheduled, one a week for the next five weeks. Each meeting was scheduled to last three hours, though most would last longer. All of the meetings started at 3 p.m., except for the fifth, which started at 6 p.m. in order to better accommodate the public. 

The minutes from the first meeting make clear that the YMCA was as anxious as ever to finish the process. “Melissa Bowen explained that the YMCA, while willing to participate in this process, is under pressure to secure a site. Many logistics depend upon them selecting a site, including going to the public for funds and seeking grants. The longer they wait, the higher the probability they will lose funding opportunities.” 

A letter from Bowen to Brubaker, sent two days before the meeting, emphasized and clarified this point. “We need a decision from the City Council on our preferred site in 30-60 days to have the opportunity to continue our fund-raising efforts, in this case our capital campaign for our facility. The YMCA must have 50 percent of our campaign goal pledged before we can go public with our campaign. We need to secure a site in order to get to the level in which we need to be, in order to go public.”  

Note that the “60-days” mentioned above would put the process well beyond the “drop-dead” March date by which Bowen had previously said the site selection process must be finished.  

At the March 20 meeting, Jim Garretson, a panel member and owner of the Flagstaff Athletic Club, expressed skepticism about the YMCA’s timeline. “I think that’s an artificial time frame that’s been put on us by the Y board,” said Garretson. 

At the second community discussion  meeting, criteria to be used in site selection was established. The minutes reported, “The YMCA would be willing to look at a parcel with criteria that: Contains five-plus acres (non-negotiable); is centrally located; facilitates synergistic partnerships; is located within a mile of previously tested site (for validity of marketing survey); is affordable and available; meets timelines; and benefits a large portion of the community. 

The minutes also reported that the YMCA indicated it hoped to build a 30,000 square foot facility in the first phase, with the square footage allocated as follows: 5,000 for child care, 4,500 for fitness, 10,000 for aquatics, 2,500 for teen programs, 2,500 for youth sports/education and 6,500 for a kids’ gym.  

Panelists were asked to rate 26 considerations related to site location in an effort to gauge what considerations were of greatest importance to the panel. A tabulation of the ratings revealed that the strongest desires of the panel were in the areas of “serves less privileged” followed by “open space concerns” and “fits Vision 2020 and infill redevelopment criteria,” which tied for second place. Serving a diverse or balanced constituency and finding a central location were also highly rated by the panelists. 

The minutes recorded that Public Works Director Bill Menard “distributed information about deadlines and timelines for moving the YMCA proposal through the municipal process while still meeting the YMCA’s deadlines. From beginning to end, the process to finalize a land deal will take roughly four months; and the property transfer would then occur sometime in July.” 

In addition, the YMCA indicated that sites greater than one mile from sites that scored highly on the YMCA study by the Winfield Consulting Group were not acceptable. This assertion was one of several non-negotiable demands made by the YMCA during the facilitated meetings. 

After the third meeting, the Sun reported, “For the first time in three meetings, the assembled panel discussing where to place a YMCA facility in Flagstaff spent the bulk of its Thursday afternoon meeting debating the merits of a city-prepared list of potential sites.” 

Several of the sites on the list were privately owned parcels, much to the dismay of YMCA representatives and their allies. 

Panelist and developer Stan Ritland said, “I really think that this is a process that’s about city owned land, an opportunity for the city to participate in partnership with the Y.” Citing concerns over possible further delays related to acquiring private land, he said he did not feel that private land should be considered by the panel. “That is not part of what the mayor asked us to do.” 

Bill Menard, Public Works Director, explained that it was in the interest of the public and the City Council to discuss all of the options. Facilitator Brubaker added that it was important to get a sense of what sites the community supported, even if some sites were not viable for the YMCA. Much of the meeting was devoted to describing and discussing the city’s list of a dozen or so potential locations for the YMCA.  

At the third meeting, for the second week in a row, the issue of how to involve the public more in the discussion came up, with some noting that the time of the meetings was inconvenient for most working people. Others questioned whether or not there had been enough publicity. Panelist John Grahame, representing the McMillan Mesa Conservation Alliance, lamented Flagstaff’s relative lack of media outlets, and in particular the poor coverage of community issues by KNAZ-TV (Channel 2).  He may not have realized that one of the YMCA board members, Ingrid Nelson, is the general manager of KNAZ-TV. Nelson was not on the community discussion panel. 

The discussion eventually turned to the potential impact of a YMCA on existing health and fitness facilities, at which point the discussion became more heated. Three panelists, Jim Garretson, owner of Flagstaff Athletic Club; Stan Mish, owner of Vertical Relief Rock Gym; and Drew Friend, representing The Firm health club, continued to be “the most vocal opponents to the YMCA’s timeline and location requests,” as the Sun put it.  

Panelist Steve Carlson, President and Chief Operating Officer of Flagstaff Medical Center, indicated he did not feel it was his role in the discussion to protect existing businesses, and added that he would excuse himself if this issue became an important factor in the decision-making process. The medical center is located just two blocks from the YMCA’s preferred location at Turquoise and Cedar. 

At the fourth meeting, held April 11, the discussion panel narrowed a list of 10 potential sites to three definite possibilities. A fourth site had strong support, but eluded consensus. The first site was at Turquoise and Cedar, still the YMCA’s preferred choice. The second site was Ritland’s property atop the mesa — the five acres he had previously offered to the YMCA for its facility. The third property was on city land atop the mesa near the existing U.S. Geological Survey complex.  

The fourth site was a property on Fourth Street in east Flagstaff. Located just south of the old community college campus, the “Knoles property,” as it is called, was recently acquired by the city. The city had intended to build a fire station on the mostly undeveloped 5-acre property.  

While several people on the panel supported including the Knoles property in further discussions, the YMCA was reluctant, in part because its market study had not evaluated the location.  

“We are setting the public up to believe (Knoles) is a viable option when, in fact, we would not accept that site,” said Becky Lewis, a panelist and YMCA board member. 

The Sun reported that YMCA Executive Director Melissa Bowen “said that an anticipated childcare partnership with the Flagstaff Medical Center would be broken if the Knoles property was chosen.” It was one of the first public reports about a possible partnership between the hospital and the YMCA, though many observers had suspected such a possibility for months.   

Kathy Flaccus, a panel member and school teacher who supported building the YMCA at Turquoise and Cedar, said, “To vote for Knoles means the Y will go to Ritland’s property.” Ritland himself would later echo the same sentiment. 

Despite YMCA objections to including the Knoles property in further discussions planned for the following week’s meeting, the facilitators ultimately decided to continue discussion about the Knoles property. 

At the fifth meeting, held in the evening to allow for public participation, it became apparent that most of those in attendance who were not directly affiliated with the YMCA were hoping the YMCA would consider locating its facility at the Knoles property. 

Joe Ray, the chairperson of east Flagstaff’s Weed and Seed program, reflected the views of several who suggested that the Knoles property was more centrally located than the other sites being considered. “East Flagstaff is the center (of town) because the growth is going to the east side. The only growth that can happen is going to be east and south. … The logical place to put (the YMCA) is the Knoles property because that’s going to be the center of Flagstaff.” 

Other supporters of the Knoles property stressed that the location would better serve a low income neighborhood and was more pedestrian and bicycle friendly to more people. Others said that locating the YMCA on Fourth Street would help to revitalize a business corridor that has long been neglected. 

Melissa Bowen of the YMCA responded to the oft-repeated concern that a YMCA at Turquoise and Cedar would not serve the needs of low income residents well because it is not in a low income neighborhood. “The mission of the YMCA is to serve all. That includes low income neighborhoods. It includes every income in Flagstaff. We’re here to serve everyone, not just the low income," said Bowen. 

While nearly all of those who live in the Fourth Street area seemed to favor locating a YMCA on the Knoles property, one notable dissenter was Abel Estrella, the owner of Tia Juanita’s restaurant on Fourth Street. Estrella, speaking as a representative of the East Flagstaff Focused Future Group, argued that the Knoles property would better serve as a park similar to west Flagstaff’s Wheeler Park. East Flagstaff Focused Future is a group of business interests working to revitalize the Fourth Street area and the east side. 

Another somewhat surprising dissenter was Kara Kelty, representing the McMillan Mesa Conservation Alliance on the panel. “Our interests essentially are to preserve as much open space as possible on McMillan Mesa,” said Kelty. “For those of you who have been following the McMillan Mesa planning process, you know that last Monday, the consultants came to town and presented four final options. The fourth option, called the consensus option, preserves the majority of the upper part of McMillan Mesa, still allowing for civic uses such as ball fields, possibly a snowplay area, and it allows for a recreation site at the corner of Turquoise and Cedar. The McMillan Mesa Conservation Alliance supports the Consensus Plan. Therefore we support the YMCA for the corner of Turquoise and Cedar. I think that Mr. Ritland’s offer to the YMCA was very generous. We hope that it never comes to fruition. And we hope that Mr. Ritland’s offer can be put to a better place or service to the community.”  

Despite the dissenting voices, among the audience there was clearly overwhelming support for placing the YMCA on the Knoles property. The most dramatic demonstration of support for the Knoles site came when audience members participated in a game-like exercise in which they were asked to stand in various places around the room that were labeled to correspond to the four sites under consideration. The idea was to stand on the spot that was, in the view of each participant, “good enough” at meeting selected criteria. The first criteria was transportation. Close to 30 people ended up standing on the spot representing Knoles. Meanwhile only four or five people stood on the spot representing Turquoise and Cedar. Panelists merely observed, and did not participate. Despite repeated reminders by the facilitators that transportation did not necessarily mean walkability nearly all of the participants refused to move from the spot representing the Knoles site. Even when the criteria was changed from “good enough with regard to transportation” to “good enough with regard to economic viability to the Y,” only two or three people moved off the Knoles site. Soon after this, the facilitators cut short the exercise, which seemed not be working out as they had hoped. 

YMCA representatives reiterated that the Knoles site was not viable because a market study had not been conducted for the site. To conduct such a study would take three or four months and cost $23,000. A new site study would not fit within the YMCA’s time constraints. 

Clearly frustrated, Clifford E. White, a retired NAU drama professor, exclaimed, “I think this is an exercise in futility.” The comment generated some applause among those in the audience. “What good is this if the (YMCA) board is going to make the final decision? … Why are we doing this?” White was probably alluding to the YMCA’s apparent inflexibility, but also the to fact that the decision of the panel was nonbinding — neither the YMCA nor the City Council would be bound by the decision. White added that the Turquoise and Cedar location was not central to Flagstaff’s three high schools, and in fact was far removed from Sinagua High. White lives across the street from Turquoise and Cedar site. 

Some audience members expressed an interest in seeing the details of the market study on which the YMCA based many of its assertions. 

Becky Lewis responded for the YMCA, noting that the conclusions of the study had been discussed at a July Parks and Recreation meeting, and a tape and minutes from that meeting was available through the city. “We don’t have the entire study. It is not a public document. The YMCA did pay for that, and we will not release that publicly,” said Lewis. 

At the sixth and final community discussion meeting held April 25, the group focused on reaching consensus on a single site. Much of the discussion continued to focus on the pros and cons of the Knoles property compared to the property at Turquoise and Cedar. 

The panel split into two groups, with one group working to come up with possible “sweeteners” to make the Knoles property more palatable to fans of the Turquoise and Cedar site, while the other group was trying to think of sweeteners that might make the Turquoise and Cedar site more acceptable to those who favored Knoles. The members of the two groups did not necessarily reflect the two opposing camps. Some supporters of the Knoles site chose to join those in the Turquoise camp, the better to dialogue about possible solutions to the stalemate. 

After a lengthy discussion, those looking for ways to make the Turquoise and Cedar site more palatable suggested that the YMCA could make a concerted effort to reach out to the underprivileged in other neighborhoods. John Grahame even went so far as to suggest providing a shuttle service to low-income neighborhoods. 

Those trying to sweeten the Knoles site for the benefit of the YMCA suggested that the city might not require the YMCA to provide any free or discounted services to the city or low income residents until after the Fourth Street overpass is completed. 

John Grahame asked about the agreement between the YMCA and Flagstaff Medical Center to provide childcare services and perhaps health training to FMC employees. “I got the very strong impression that there had been very substantive discussions,” said Grahame. 

“Well let’s clear that up,” replied panelist Steve Carlson, president of FMC. He seemed a bit irritated by Grahame’s question. “There have been discussions. Has there been any formal development of a relationship? No. Have we talked any numbers? No. Have we made any commitments? No. Is there any requirement that they do this by the hospital? No.”  

Later in the meeting several people including John Grahame expressed frustration that the YMCA appeared not to be listening to the will of the people and seemed unyielding and inflexible in its demands.  

“Last week those people came up and they stood on that Knoles spot and you tried to reason with them, saying this, that, and the other thing. They said, ‘No, we’re here with a message. We have not been heard. …’ I still haven’t heard that you heard that message,” said Grahame. 

The meeting ran an hour and a half longer than it was supposed to. In the end, despite considerable reluctance by some in attendance, the group agreed to recommend to the City Council that the YMCA be allowed to lease the land at Turquoise and Cedar, or perhaps buy it outright, with certain conditions. One of these conditions was that Stan Ritland would enter into negotiations with the YMCA and the city, possibly resulting in Ritland giving the city a portion of land he owns on Turquoise south of Cedar to sweeten the city’s lease agreement with the YMCA. This land is apparently not the same land that he had previously offered to the YMCA. The YMCA would still be obligated to provide certain services to the city as previously discussed.   

The YMCA agreed to form a committee to study how best to reach out to the entire community. The panel also formally acknowledged that there was strong public support for the Knoles property. 

Some on the panel could not agree to the final recommendation and abstained from the vote. Health and recreation club representatives Jim Garretson, Drew Friend and Stan Mish abstained, as did Bill Menard from the city’s Public Works department. Jean Griego, representing the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, was absent. Steve Carlson of FMC, Becky Daggett of Friends of Flagstaff's Future, Angela Creedon of Common Ground, and teacher Kathy Flaccus all had to leave before the final decision was made. However, according to the Sun, Daggett, Creedon and Flaccus indicated they might be able to support the proposal that was emerging when they left. Only 10 panelists voted on the recommendation. 

The recommendation is expected to go to the City Council for consideration soon — possibly as early as May 7. The Council will hold a regular Council meeting at 6 p.m. May 7. For City Council agenda information, call 779-7685 ext. 201. Or visit www.flagstaff.az.gov.  

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the Summit Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Center was owned by Stan Ritland. In fact, the center is owned by Northern Arizona Orthopaedics, a company owned by several doctors. Ritland is not among the doctors who own the center, located on the southwest corner of Turqoise and Cedar. Ritland formerly owned the land on which the center has been built, and was involved in rezoning the land prior to selling it.