Is City Subsidizing a Bloated Deland YMCA Bureaucracy at Over $1-Million?

November 22, 2013 incoming 167 Views 2 Comments

From:   “Ted Noftall” <Ted@TedNoftall.com>
To:    “Greg Kisela” <gkisela@port-orange.org>
Greg,
By “reinvested” I mean how much has the Parent Y spent on those items for which they are responsible under their lease over the past years and 9 months.
Section 3.2 of the original 1989 lease states   “….. YMCA shall be furnish the necessary office equipment, nautilus equipment, free weights and sporting equipment, etc. All such equipment or additional facilities and material will be new and of modern design and safety features, and of first class material. YMCA agrees to maintain said equipment in a safe, sanitary and neat condition, and in accordance with applicable standards at all times.”
I am having great difficulty understanding why it is seemingly tolerable for pictures and stories of broken machines and inappropriately sized aquatic equipment,    and explanations of newer machines with a smaller footprint equipment that if purchased would allow for a greater number of machines in a given space and thus cut down on waiting lines and times, to be freely making the rounds – WHEN SUCH EXPENDITURES ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PARENT Y.
Surely it cannot be for lack of funds because over the past 3 years and 9 months the Port Orange y has contributed $ 1,318,390 to the Parent Y’s administration in Deland, AND it is perfectly logical to assume a reasonable portion of that amount would be expected to be “reinvested” in new equipment, etc in the Port Orange Y.
If you have not done the necessary research to advise Counsel regarding options to have a lower cost operator than the Volusia/Flagler YMCA run the Port Orange Y I would suggest you do so immediately. Paying anyone $1.3 million to operate the Port Orange Y for the past 3 years and 9 months is obscene considering the City paid Kemper Sports $ 325,000 over the same period to operate the Cypress Head Golf Club.
We are talking about a low hanging $1 million dollars over 3 years that could be invested in Port Orange instead of subsidizing a bloated Deland bureaucracy, for no good reason!!

Ted

—–Original Message—–
From: Kisela, Greg [mailto:gkisela@port-orange.org]
Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2013 4:53 PM
To: Ted Noftall; Fenwick, Robin
Cc: Bob Ford; Kennedy, Dennis; don@amlsfl.com; Drew Bastian
Subject: RE: YMCA Questions
Ted:
Can you clarify what you mean by “reinvested”?
Greg Kisela
City Manager

2 thoughts on “Is City Subsidizing a Bloated Deland YMCA Bureaucracy at Over $1-Million?”

Greg KiselaPost author
November 24, 2013 at 11:50 am

from: Kisela, Greg via port-orange.us 8:57 AM
to: trogers, YMCA
Teresa:
Please see question regarding Section 3.2 of the lease between the City and the YMCA. The YMCA expansion is currently scheduled before the City Council on December 3rd for consideration.
Greg Kisela
City Manager
Hank Springer
November 24, 2013 at 4:22 pm

Thank you Ted Noftall for all your efforts in following the Port Orange City Council and City Manager’s activities. You have stung the here before considered sincere elite, and your endeavors are starting to change the false perception some have had of the saintly demeanor of city hall administrators. I marvel at the complexity of issues which you bring into an understandable critique. As a result you have eliminated some of the ambiguity the city hall administration like to indulge. During the enlightening period of revelations in city hall administration, you have prodded the city council to exert more awareness and accountability of the city manager’s doings and his administrators. Such direction has been needed, and I am glad you are here to provide it.
Many reports in the past to the city council from city administrators have been factually inaccurate, and you have pointed them out in a clear way that we can all understand them.
There’s an old principle of logic, called Occam’s razor — that if you have to twist things around and have a lot more explanations, that the simplest answer is often the best one. Indeed you have sharpened Occam’s razor for city hall, and dulled the before used preface to explanations, “the issue is complex”.
City Hall in the past has been lacking effective supervision and indulged in ambiguities.
Although some stubbornness still exists on the city council, you have been leading them by way of your council comments and e mail editorials, down the correct road, for their own sake and the citizens.
Thank you Ted for being here for us.
Sincerely – Hank Springer