Ottawa waiting on FEMA funds for purchase, demolition of old YMCA

While the city of Ottawa is pleased to have its brand new YMCA up and running so well, it hasn’t forgotten about its predecessor, the building that has served the community for many years and still is serving it.

The old YMCA building located at 201 E. Jackson St. is in limited use, hosting on weekdays near 350 children – what YMCA executive director Joe Capece said are “our biggest numbers ever” – for the Y’s summer day camp.

But that usefulness soon will come to an end as the area’s presence within the flood plain around the Fox River will require likely that the entire building be demolished, ultimately being turned into another city park, into parking and entrance to Fox River Park or more parking for the downtown area.

That future depends on the specifications in a pending Federal Emergency Management Agency flood plain grant that will provide a reported $2.34 million in funding for the city to purchase the property from the YMCA and demolish any structures on the land because of the potential for flood damage in that plain.

“We’ve been told it’s going to be awarded and we’re moving forward with that notion,” Ottawa Mayor Robb Hasty said. “The grant is in a long and drawn-out process, in part because it is a FEMA buyout, just like when we had to use FEMA money in the flats where Fox River Park is now.

“Part of that is the demolition of the building. We’re waiting to get more information from the grant to know whether or not that means the entire building. We also need to clarify if that includes some nice parking lot area we’re hoping to keep because that would make a good entrance into the river pathway to Fox River Park.

“But we’re moving forward with the understanding that we’re going to have to tear the whole thing down and it will be owned by the city of Ottawa once that’s done.”

Should the city be allowed to keep part of the building, Hasty said there still is a cap on how much the city can put into maintaining it, based on the value of the structure.

For now, there is no timetable for the FEMA process, despite how eager the city and the new YMCA area to get the matter closed.

“In the past, I’ve been told that these things two to three years to complete and we’re knocking on about two years at this point,” Hasty said. “I know that the Y is hoping so, too. Every once in a while, we get an email saying, ‘Where are we on that?’

“At the end of the day, if FEMA says it all has to go, we’re not going to ask any questions. We’ll move forward and take it as a win for us, a win for the Y and a win for the community with nice riverfront access for everyone.”