ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 11, 1997 TAG: 9702110110
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON
Salem YMCA leaders will get a chance to ask for expanded facilities this spring when city planners discuss what to do with property - including the Y building - that Salem bought from Roanoke College in 1995.
Salem Y leaders gave their first-year report to City Council on Monday. It said their facilities were near maximum capacity. City Council also got a stack of letters from members who said they loved having the Y in town but needed more room.
When the Y opened a year ago in the former Salem YWCA building on Roanoke College's Elizabeth Campus, Salem Y manager Mike Van Haelewyn said he hoped they would have signed up 1,000 members after the first year.
They surpassed those goals with 1,115 members.
Now, Van Haelewyn and Cal Johnson - executive director of the Roanoke Valley YMCA - want to expand the facility.
When the Salem Y opened, Roanoke College owned the land and building. The college leased the building to Salem, which subleased it to the Y. Then the city bought the building and about 52 acres surrounding it from the college last June.
Smith said the city has just begun talking about plans for the former Roanoke College Elizabeth Campus, which could include industrial or commercial development. Budget work sessions are scheduled in the spring.
During those talks, Smith said, the city will listen to expansion needs from YMCA leaders.
Monday night, City Council members said they were surprised at the level of membership after only one year.
They were given letters from about 20 members who supported expansion.
"I am surprised that the Y in Salem is so small," one member wrote. "I do understand it is just one year old. I moved here from Altavista, a small town of less than 4,000 people, but we have one of the best and largest Y's, so I vote for a larger facility in Salem."
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