Feb. 10, 2008
Many people fondly remember the YMCA and its pool at their former Mitton Street site. The River City Vineyard purchased the building in 1997 after the YMCA had completed construction on their new building. We were committed to keeping the pool in operation as we felt that it was a valuable asset to the city, especially in the downtown core. We especially like to provide a swim time for the seniors as swimming is one of the best, non impact exercises for seniors.
Financially, the pool has always broken even until recently. In the past few years, costs have gone up significantly. The largest costs were the increased utility prices. We also lost one of our major customers last year.
Over the years several capital improvements have been made, but many large items have been deferred and now we have come to the point where we don't have sufficient income to keep the pool operational.
We have looked at raising prices but do not see that as making enough difference to keep the pool open. The only way we could keep the pool open is if we had a significant capital infusion to invest in a heat recovery unit and to upgrade the equipment to be more energy efficient and more maintenance free. So looking at the situation realistically, we cannot continue to run as we have been.
The River City Vineyard would like to deeply thank their many loyal customers over the years and formally announce that they will be closing the pool permanently as of March 29th, 2008.