Amy Schulte, the CEO of the YMCA of Washington County, attended the Kalona City Council meeting on Nov. 2 to update the council on membership rates and operations of the Kalona YMCA.

Kalona YMCA members will see about a 5% rate increase for their 2021 resident fees – this calculates out to about $10 more for a resident adult, $20 more for a resident family and $5 more for a resident senior.

Kalona residents will also see changes regarding activation fees for new members, which have been and will continue to be waived for members who choose to pay their yearly fees upfront. Schulte said most Kalona residents choose to pay in advance. However, the YMCA is now offering a monthly payment plan for Kalona-only memberships, which will be subject to the $30 activation fee ($50 for families).

“We recognize that this year it might be difficult for an adult to pay $150 at once, but if we let them pay $12.50 per month, they might be able to do that,” Schulte said. “Being able to continue these services is the goal for everyone.”

Kalona residents who let their membership lapse in 2020 would be subject to the activation fees when restarting if they choose to pay monthly, but this fee structure doesn’t kick in until Jan. 1, 2021.

Schulte said the Kalona YMCA has seen a dramatic drop in membership since the onset of the pandemic. The all-time high for Kalona memberships was 1,708 in February, which fell to 1,372 in July, which worked out to be a 19.74% decrease. The Washington location saw a 6.2% decrease and the Wellman location recorded a 12.67% decrease.

Schulte said the top three reasons cited for membership cancellations or non-renewals were lack of use, financial reasons and moving away.

The YMCA is starting to see membership increases, however. As of Nov. 2, there were 1,385 Kalona members.

As COVID-19 cases become more prevalent in Washington County, the YMCA is responding by changing their staff mask policy – staff are now asked to wear a mask if they have to leave the office and/or work in close proximity with others. The YMCA currently asks everyone to wear a mask when they are not engaged in strenuous activity.

In other business, the council approved an agreement with the Washington County Conservation Board for recreational land and wetland management. No money will change hands with the partnership. City administrator Ryan Schlabaugh said he plans to take the agreement to the board of supervisors on Nov. 10 and back to the conservation board on Nov. 12 for finalization.

The council also approved the Kalona Post Office 10-year lease proposal. The annual rent paid to the city will increase from $17,300 to $21,869, which is a 26% increase. For the final five years the rent will increase another 10%, to $2,455.90.

The final item on the agenda was the Iowa Alcoholic Beverage Division renewal application for Westside Petro, requesting a Class B Wine Permit to allow carryout wine, including Native wine, and Sunday Sales. The council voted 4-1 to approve the application with Jenelle Bender casting the dissenting vote.