Over the past few weeks, many of you have submitted questions to us relating to the real estate transaction with the City of Montreal and the future of the NDG YMCA.
I would therefore like to begin this new year by sharing with you a summary of the public meeting which took place on December 15, during which we spoke about this real estate transaction with the City of Montreal.
The subject of this transaction is the green space which is located adjacent to the YMCA. The transaction has gone through all stages of approval and is now official. In view of the YMCA’s significant loss of income, selling this land will help us get through the current health crisis, and will allow us to preserve an almost century-old social impact in the community by ensuring that programming at this site continues.
The land is now owned by the City, which plans to develop a large park for the benefit of all residents of the neighbourhood, as well as a community housing project. This project will be promoted by the borough, so we will be waiting for clarification from them on this subject.
As far as the centre is concerned, the current lockdown obviously forces us to suspend physical activities a little longer. Only the TeenZone remains open for in-person activities to provide vital academic support to high school students. However, to support our community and give you as many opportunities as possible to stay active and involved, many other activities continue to take place virtually, including seniors’ activities and virtual group classes.
When the government allows sports centres to resume normal operations, we will be launching a major membership reactivation campaign for the reopening, and we will need your help to make it a success! Like any organization, we need a minimum number of participants to operate on a sustainable basis, so we are already planning a public meeting, emails, social network postings and even phone calls to ensure that all members who wish to reactivate their memberships have the opportunity to do so.
We are also taking advantage of this forced interruption to continue our discussions with the borough and other community stakeholders to adapt and improve our service offer in the neighbourhood. In fact, a few months ago, we began a project to redevelop the YMCA’s service offering, for which I am the project manager. One of the main aspects of my mandate is to ensure that the services we offer are always relevant and in keeping with the actual needs of our community. One of my missions will therefore be to assess our different programs, and when necessary to adapt them in line with our social mission, which aims to inspire and involve each person to realize their potential, to thrive and to contribute to their community. At the end of 2020, I also conducted some community interviews, which provided valuable information allowing me to identify existing and emerging issues in the neighbourhood.
One of the essential inputs to my work will also be to consult with the community at certain points in the process to make sure that your concerns, needs and satisfactions are best addressed.
I am also available to answer your questions if need be. My email is: kathy.dancsecs@ymcaquebec.org
The entire team joins me in wishing you all an excellent 2021, filled with health and joy. We look forward to welcoming you back to the centre.
Kathy Dancsecs
Project Manager for Redevelopment of the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce YMCA