The executive director of the Central Lincoln County YMCA said a reduction in the amount of trust fund money that can be used to renovate the former A.D. Gray School will not deter plans for a YMCA in Waldoboro.
At press time Sept. 5, Waldoboro Town Manager John Spear announced Key Private Bank informed the town Sept. 4 that $780,000 in trust funds which the bank had previously indicated were available for construction of a recreational center would not be available.
Citizens will vote by referendum, Tues., Sept. 11 to decide whether the town will enter into a lease purchase agreement, under which the YMCA would transform the 77-year-old A.D. Gray School building into The Gay and Stan and Anne Bailey Recreational Center.
According to Spear, town officials were pleasantly surprised last May when Key Bank informed them of the existence of the trust, known as the I. Stan Bailey Fund. Since May it had been anticipated that the funds would be used to pay for part of the renovations required to transform the former school into a branch facility of the CLC YMCA.
Spear said he was “absolutely shocked” when Key Bank Trust Officer Cristina Evers called to tell him that Key Bank had overlooked not one, but two amendments to the trust documents that Stan Bailey had executed in June 1999 and in October 2000. These oversights led to Key Bank reversing its previous position regarding the availability of the funds.
Spear said he finds it inconceivable that Key Bank’s notification is coming at this late date, given Key Bank’s awareness of the plan to use these funds for the A. D. Gray/YMCA project.
A spokesman for Key Bank, contacted for comment, did not provide a response by press time.
The amendments increase the amount of trust principal the trustee must hold in perpetuity to $1.5 million, from the original $500,000, thus precluding the use of any trust fund principal at this time.
Spear went on to say that the good news is that when he called Lincoln County YMCA Executive Director Craig Wilson to inform him of Key Bank’s oversight, Wilson’s first words were, “It doesn’t change the Y’s commitment to Waldoboro.”
According to Spear, Wilson said the YMCA obviously would not be able to proceed as fast as they had hoped and that the capital fund campaign would have to make up the difference.
“The Y was coming to town when there was no money on the table,” Wilson said Sept. 5. “We are committed purely because we ought to be. There is a need for the services the Y provides.”
Spear also said that he wanted to make this new information known to the public as soon as possible, given that Waldoboro voters are being asked to consider the matter of the A.D. Gray/YMCA project at a referendum scheduled for Tues., Sept. 11. Spear indicated he saw no legal complications between the referendum and the information Key Bank provided him with yesterday, as the Sept. 11 ballot question and the proposed lease agreement with the YMCA both refer to funds that “may be available.”
Wilson said it was likely the opening of the new facility would be delayed, depending on how fundraising efforts proceed.
Plans for the new Gay and Stan and Anne Bailey Recreational Center were unveiled for Aug. 30. (See related story)
“Pending the vote on the 11th, if the town approves the agreement, the Y will immediately launch a capital campaign,” Wilson said. “The goal will be $1 million-plus to open the doors.” He said it might take six months longer than previously anticipated to reach the level of completion necessary for that opening.
Wilson said he has already informed the board of the Central Lincoln County YMCA and the planning board for the Waldoboro facility of the change in availability of trust funds. Because the project has not yet received voter approval, the local board is not a legal entity.
“We were disappointed in the lack of funds,” he said. “We understand the reality of the situation. The board is committed to roll up its sleeves and get to fundraising.”
Polls for the Sept. 11 special town meeting referendum, which also includes questions about the fiscal year 2013 budget, will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Waldoboro Municipal Building. Absentee ballots are available until Thurs., Sept. 6 at the town office, for those unable to vote at the polls. For more information, call the Waldoboro Town Office at 832-5369.