Two YMCAs operating in Boulder County, Colorado, are exploring a merger.
The timeline for a potential merger of Longmont's Ed & Ruth Lehman YMCA and the Boulder Valley YMCA is unclear, according to a Longmont Times-Call report. Longmont's decision to move forward with a merger was unanimous, Longmont YMCA board member Meca Delgado told the Times-Call.
"This is still the exploratory phase, looking at the different options and making sure it's mutually beneficial for the communities and organization at large," Delgado said.
If approved, the merger would bring together the three facilities, 20,100 members and 520 employees. The Longmont YMCA has operated as a private, non-profit since 1989 after splitting from the Boulder Valley YMCA, which operates facilities in Boulder and Lafayette.
The Longmont YMCA has an operating budget of $2 million and the Boulder Valley YMCA has an operating budget of $10 million, according to the Times-Call.
"Our intent is to put these Y's all back together again," Boulder Valley YMCA CEO Chris Coker told the Times-Call. "All of them in Boulder County, because a $12 million Y umbrella can do a heck of a lot more than a $10 million one and a $2 million one ...With fitness staff there's a $5 to $8 pay differential right now (between Boulder Valley and Longmont). That's a massive rate increase that the (Longmont) staff will receive if this goes through."
Coker cited resources management and organizational stability as other reasons for a merger, according to the Times-Call report.