Planning Commission OK’s YMCA Plans
In a decision that drew audible derision from much of the gathered crowd, the University Park Planning and Zoning Commission approved plans Tuesday evening for a renovated Park Cities YMCA.
As opponents waved signs reading “Y Too Big,” the commission voted 4-1 in favor of the plan. The up-to 65,000 square foot project now heads to UP City Council, on July 17.
After the meeting, opponents planned their next moves while supporters and YMCA officials were careful not to seem too excited. The City Council has the power to throw out the commission’s decision entirely, after all, and force the YMCA to start from scratch.
See you in July?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCT0zLHPY9s&feature=related
So the Y presented their ideas a few months ago, there was discord and they delayed the vote; they presented again without any changes, again there was discord and they delayed the vote; they presented again without any changes to the plans, there was discord, and they voted 4-1 for approval. Democracy at it’s finest.
Discord is the preserve of the minority.
Glad to hear the board didn’t cave in to the NIMBY crowd, most of whom moved in after the current Y was built. I think all will be pleased when the new facility is done as it will take all the cars off the side streets and put them in the garage. It will also be safer, i.e. hopefully fewer car burglaries.
MGBH-You talk as if this is a done deal. The P&Z is simply an advisory board. They kicked the can Tuesday night and left the hard decisions to the Council. The Rise school will be out and the overall size will be no more than 50,000.
Glad to see that PiperMan hasn’t retired from the blog a sphere, I thought that possibly he might after the misquoted CEO pay statements and constant inaccuracy of his/her comments. PiperMan is correct in that the P&Z is just an advisory board for the City Council but it is hard to deny staff recommendations and P&Z approval to a request that falls inside the parameters of any other city facility, church or commercial development in UP. I have definitely found a new definition for irony in UP, residents having signs that Y is too big in front of their 7,000 sf house on a 7,500 foot lot
Why does the YMCA have a school?
Park Cities- You obviously don’t follow the City Council very closely. They reverse or modify P&Z and staff reccomendations all the time. As for the accuracy of CEO pay statements, here are the 2010 numbers from Charity Navigator:
Expenses for the Dallas Y $50 Million.
CEO pay $349,400
Expenses for the National Y $90 Million
CEO pay $452,581
Expenses for American Red Cross $3 Billion (That’s right BILLION with a B)
CEO pay $501,000
Why are Y CEOs being paid close to what the Red Cross CEO makes even though their charities are about 33 times smaller? That’s a question every member and donor should be asking when they write their checks.
Piper Man: Regarding the salary of the CEO of the Red Cross, you might want to read the April/May 2012 issue of the Charity Rating Guide & Watchdog Report. There is a table of the Top 25 Compensation Packages. Gail McGovern (Red Cross CEO) is number ten in the country. Her salary is $1,032,022 which includes a one-time reimbursement of $473,570 for relocation costs to work at the national headquarters. The salary information was calculated by adding the IRS Form 990 categories of “Compensation,” “Contributions to employee benefit plans,” and “Expense accounts and other allowances.” Not included are any benefits received but not reported in the charity’s IRS Form 990.
She is the tenth highest paid CEO for non-profits. I didn’t see anyone from the YMCA in that list…
The CEO of the American Cancer Society is the highest paid in case you are interested.
Another Mother- So lets see… $1,032,022 minus the one time relocation expenses… $473,570 makes $558,452….. Then take out, oh lets say $20-$30,000 in contributions to her benefit package, you got $528,452. Expense accounts and other allowances…. what do you think? $17,000? That makes $511,452, getting close! Oh yeah forgot to adjust 2-3% for inflation between 2010 and 2012. Yup that makes just under $500k, pretty darn close to what the highest rated charity tracker in our country says the Red Cross CEO made in “compensation” for 2010. Boy math is fun! Some people should really take off their Y cheerleader uniforms and look at the reality of the situation. Y workers, members and donors are getting hosed by fat cats and wouldn’t you know it, they just want more! Bigger facility, more members, more compensation. You brought up a good point: I wonder how much more money the Y CEO recieved that is not classified as compensation? How big is his expense account? What about his retirement package/golden parachute? Y members and donors should be asking those questions. The City Council has to ask just one question, what is the benefit to the community of University Park? I’ll bet money that the Y plan will be all but gutted.
Avid Reader: As has been said at every hearing, the Y has had a preschool program for over 50 years. It’s been a good, compatible use – so much so that many people are’t even aware it’s there. The Y wants to extend this programming to additional children that includes, rather than excludes special needs kids. It always has been and will remain a Y program.
Piper Man: Why don’t you take the time to actually find out the answers to your questions and enlighten yourself? You say Y members and donors should be asking these questions. Well, maybe they have and are satisfied with the answers. How do you know otherwise?
Your posts are so highly charged and emotional that one has to wonder if there isn’t something personal going on. Rational people don’t get rude (Get it?) over the Y.
The Y plan will pass. There may be a few minor revisions, but it will pass and there will be a new building.
The Y refuses to publish that information. They also refuse to open their books about how many of their members live outside of University Park. And hey, this is a blog. Get used to the bumpy ride. Get it?
Piper Man: When has where patrons live ever been a consideration in deciding zoning? Same could be asked of any retail, restaurant, office school, church, private school or other non-residential use that’s come before the P&Z or Council for zoning, but they’ve never asked. Know why? Because it can’t legally be considered. That kind of thinking is why the City of Sunnyvale has been entangled in a federal suit for decades. Council and City Attorney are well aware of this and it’s also why the City has a UP resident-only policy for park facility reservatons, but not park use.
PC Res-Is that also why University Park is one of a handfull of cities in Dallas county that do not have affordable government subsidized housing for low income families? See they can ask those questions regarding zoning and they do. If the Y has nothing to hide they should provide their membership information. They make such a big deal about how much their charity subsidized workout gym benefits UP citizens and meanwhile the majority of their members don’t even live here.
You are so all over the place on your issues with the Y that it is hard to tell where you are coming from. Zoning, salaries, residence of members. You don’t seem to like anything. Are you saying that you want the Y to be for the benefit of only UP residents? It’s not now; it never has been and it never will be. I don’t live in UP, never have. But I have benefited greatly from the Y. I live in HP. Does that work? I used to live in Preston Hollow. Does that work or should I have gone elsewhere? Or is it only upper income folks that you want patronizing the Y? Their mission statement is: To put Christian Principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body FOR ALL. Inclusivity. You seem to want exclusivity, which is not part of their mission.