KALONA

YMCA membership dues took top priority for the Kalona City Council Monday night, with YMCA of Washington County CEO Amy Schulte in attendance to explain the significance of proposed changes.

Schulte explained to the council on Nov. 6 that the YMCA would like to make changes to 24/7 access for members going forward. Members have requested that the gymnasium, exercise, and spin rooms be made accessible during hours when the facility is not staffed; currently, adult members with 24/7 access are not allowed into those spaces during unstaffed hours. The YMCA would like to open those areas up.

At the same time, other YMCAs in the Heartland YMCA Alliance (which includes Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota) charge an additional fee for 24/7 access; the YMCA in Kalona does not. Schulte would like the Kalona YMCA to charge an additional $2.50 per month for 24/7 access for Kalona residents.

Schulte explained that 24/7 access would remain optional for YMCA members, and that members could purchase that privilege on a month-to-month basis as desired.

She also presented statistics: 440 Kalona residents have YMCA memberships, and of those, 110 of them have 24/7 access. On average, those 110 members use the YMCA 16 times a month. With the additional fee of $2.50, those Kalona residents would pay an additional .15¢ per visit; they would also have access to the gym and spin and exercise rooms -- an additional 11,000 square feet of space.

“We’re trying to make the fee as affordable and reasonable as possible,” Schulte said.

City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh explained that the fees collected for 24/7 access would provide the YMCA with funds for upkeep of the facility that the city is not responsible for.

Although only three council members were present, they felt comfortable with the fee and access changes, as well as other membership rate increases, and their approval was unanimous.

The rate changes will take effect at the time of membership renewal.

Other council action

In other new business, the council turned its attention to the student-built housing projects.

The 2023 Student-Built duplex on C Avenue is adjacent to property owned by Ryan and Stephanie Schlabaugh; the pair granted access to the Student-Built site through their property earlier this year. However, panels of their sidewalk and driveway sustained damage by vehicles coming and going during construction. Building inspector Dave Tornow assessed the damage and made a recommendation for replacement; the city council approved that the city make the recommended repairs.

The 2024 Student-Built housing site is located at 502 A Avenue; the city closed on the property last week. The city would now like to proceed with a full-site clean-up, which would include demolition of the existing house and removal of a fence and some trees. The council gave its approval for the demolition and clean up so that the city can “tear the house down” and “start grant writing and doing all of the things we need to do,” as Schlabaugh recommended.

Finally, the council set a work session for Monday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. and a public hearing for the Incline Grove Phase 2 and 3 Zoning Request at 7 p.m. that same evening.

The Kalona City Council’s next regular meeting will be Monday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at Kalona City Hall.