Please ask if we can VOTE at our local YMCA in lieu of a trip to Audubon.

So people in opposition are likely racist and bigots? Those are the same tactics used so successfully by the DNC on Nov 6, and may work here too.

My husband and I did our research to determine if this was a safe and welcoming area for a mixed race couple prior to moving here. Our theory proved questionable over the last 3 years.

I wonder how much financial gain the Freedom Valley Y leaders get from this merger. It must be a lot for them to start calling their members racists. I am a member of the Y and haven't given the merger much thought until reading this article. Now I am suspicious of the Y leaders.

This is not surprising. The racial vitriol in many parts of our area is quite poignant. I hear it because I'm white. My husband is not. Last week I asked him to join the Y to learn to swim. He lived in a Land-Locked area during his childhood, worked at least 2 jobs and never learned. I consider swimming a "Life Skill". Will there be a problem for him if he learns to swim at the Y? It seems so.

This is so over the top its almost unbelievable. Incredible. Such thinly veiled bigotry. If you're going to credibly oppose the merger this is the LAST rationale to legitimately utilize.

It boggles my mind that "leaders" on the Y board can't see past their nose. I did not read one ounce of bigotry in the flyer distribution. You can spin the concern anyway you so wish. But please....don't read something that is not there. In my opinion the concerns voiced are valid regardless if the proposal to merge was with a Y in Allentown or any other city. By the way, when will Freedom Valley add racket ball courts? Does the Y insist that a shower be taken before swimming in the pool? WTW

why are people from limerick so worried about outsiders coming into there area. I am originally from this area. And if we did not expand and grow half you people would not be here. So quite complaining everytime growth is wanted.

Denise, Please don't let this prevent you from joining the Y. I have been a member for several years and I have never seen any sort of bigotry or bias, especially from the staff.

Wayne, they will not add racquetball courts because it takes too much space to serve too few people (I asked this question at a Lower Providence Township meeting: http://www.lowerprovidence.org/documents/LP9-26-12PCMins.pdf. The Phoenixville Y does have racquetball courts.

I think all this is beyond absurb, if you are so worry about the inner city and they do mean race, i hear it from ppl. they say it. its funny because its 2012/2013. us white ppl do the same crimes of steal. destory property. break into lockers and cars. these crimes are not a race base crime, so maybe these rascist ppl shouldn't be allowed to be members at our y's because they don't uphold their vaules. they are teaching their children the same ways. clearly its race inner city, facts are facts not many whites live there. if ur that rascist and trying to prevent a good thing to not just the members but the employees who will see lower health care and better pension than you vote no. but if you have a heart and care about the employees who work day in and day out to give us the wonderful y's we have and fell in love with you will vote yes, and say screw race its 2012/2013 this ended back in the 60's.

Mergers are complex and have great potential. I trust that our leadership and our membership will have the wisdom to do what's best in every aspect.

At Denise I agree...nd as much as it appears the y is full of racist idiots....I hope u kno majority rules and we voted;) nd we want ur husband to learn how to swim.

To reiterate what the flyer stated "'Do you think it's possible under the proposed merger for a couple bus loads of inner-city Y members to trek out to OUR Y to enjoy the beautiful pools on a hot summer day? Or overrun our playgrounds? It will be if you allow this merger. So get in line because the crowds are coming. We have great facilities, but they will soon be at risk to over-use, crowding, damage, depreciation, and possibly vandalism.'"

They are so ignorant to the fact that first off, half of the Philadelphia YMCA's are in suburban Philadelphia. Secondly, they are ignorant that the Ambler Y pool (part of the Philly Y system, and far closer to those "inner-city" residents) is 10x better than anything in the Freedom Valley Y system. And finally, they are so stupid to think that their flyer and this verbiage would be anything other than thinly veiled bigotry.

Wisdom will prevail.

Thank you. Its stupidity that ruins society. Clearly its someone who hasn't woke nd faced facts. That everyone is treated equal nd not by the color of their skin. Have they seen Obama?!? Maybe not. To me its the senior citizens who can't wake up and accept African Americans as real ppl. Nd not horrible terrible ppl. Its a ymça merger not whether or not a different race should drink from the same water fountain or sit on the front of the bus. Facts r us white ppl steal...murder...rape.....
I hate ppl who don't know their facts....vote. yes. ~K

The biggest problem here...is probably the belief by people that the YMCA is a workout facility. The YMCA, although it has beautiful facilities, is a place built to knit communities together through an approach to total health. It is a gathering place for people regardless of socio-economic class, pigment, or even religious belief. It was founded on biblical principles and its core values are honesty, respect and responsibility. We have a chance to become part of something bigger here, and grow the influence of our community.We just might even learn something if we are not careful. Vote yes!!

Amen Peter. You nailed on the head. Stop taking and start giving people...It will set you free

You are missing the point.

It is not about race, demographics, or the will of the people. It is about the control of a 26 million dollar non profit organization. The merger would create a 60 million dollar entity controlled by John Flynn, who has been selected by the Board of Directors to lead the operation at an annual salary of $500,000. a year..

Why not drop you name in the hat.

JTH

What's the matter with this Board of Directors? Seems like they are becoming dictators, as they have entire meeting thing covered with themselves as a quorem. Quprem = 15. Bd of Dir = 18. Closed vote. The me membership is being railroaded.
Whoever heard of a hand vote with an the intimidation factor being so strong on the side of the Board. REALLY!

It will improve and significantly reduce healthcare expenses for employees. It will broaden the influence and impact the YMCA can have as a charity organization. I don't disagree that there could have been a better release of information, and that more transparency would comfort some people. I do believe a vote against the merger is short-sighted and selfish. I have been involved in YMCA's since I was a boy in Virginia and I believe in its impact in the lives of our future leaders!

I used to be a member of the Spring Valley Y. I was actually a charter member. I stopped going a while ago because of the overcrowded conditions. It's hard to find a parking spot any day and even more so in the summer when the pools are open. I can't imagine why they are even considering merging with any other Y, center city or otherwise, when they barely have room for the current members. I wish you all good luck if this merger happens as there will be no room at the pool!

Honestly, enough is enough. The Y is supposed to be a safe, fun, community orientated place. A pool is a pool, a fitness center is still a fitness center. Etc. It's sad that people today think they are better than the next person. Get over yourself and start thinking about helping kids, families, adults within the community!!!!!

There may be some benefit from a cost standpoint to merge with Philly but taking local control out of the local community and putting it in the hands of a board 35 miles away that has few, if any, ties to our local community is not productive. The race baiting is stupid....and the flyers worrying about kids from Philly taking an hour long bus ride are silly. The pools will not be more crowded because of the merger.

That said, any local decision making goes out the window and goes in the hands of a bunch of guys in Center City. Ask local agencies serviced by the United Way how responsive Philly has been to the needs of the Pottstown community since the Pottstown United way merged a few years ago...it isn't the same level of impact.

I hope those who attended tonight vote to protect local control....it may cost a bit more but the decisions are made by your neighbors, friends, and people who care about the Pottstown, Phoenixville, and 422 communities.

YMCA..... Young Men's CHRISTIAN Association, I don't see alot of that C thing going on here,

Based on these comments, clearly there are some valid concerns about this merger taking place that should be reviewed and addressed, but anyone who doesn't think that commentary is race baiting is naive. Why do you think the Audubon Y was denied at Markley Farms? Too close to "those people" in Norristown. They might get on a bus and show up there.

Apart from the benefit to a few employees and people at the top I see no benefit to a merger. This smells a bit when opposition to something is immediately labeled racist. What does racist even mean anymore? Is it being opposed to something that does not benefit you?

I am a Y employee who was closely involved with the opposition at the Spring Valley Branch and to suggest that our outcry was racially motivated is ludicrous. Our motivation was overcrowding of a already packed facility and fear of change. Corporate handled this situation very badly and it shows. The only reason any information was divulged or a town meeting was held was because of member outcry. The issues that most people were concerned about were overcrowding and allocation of funds. As with any other merger in a workplace, people will be frightened by change, to suggest that we were motivated because we fear people from other races using our facility was an idea proposed by management to make us look bad. The supposed flyer was from Phoniexville btw not Spring Valley. The whole merger process at our facility was surreptitious and when the members cried foul we were treated like errant children that needed to be pacified. I am not saying that there will not be benefits but for those of u touting the healthcare benefits, they are only for Full time employees, about 5% of the Y workforce. Misinformation, fear and botched public relations are to be blamed for this situation, not racism. The Spring Valley YMCA is an amazing facility. For those of you suggesting anything less, you obviously have never been there. The people have proven how passionate they are about it, have they not?

I am a member of the Freedom Valley Board and I was one of three board members who worked on the merger committee that met with our counterparts at the Philly Y. The important reasons for the merger have been distributed in many ways but they are apparently hard for some members to accept.
1.- The combination of the two Y's will make us among a handful of the most financially stable Y's in the country and will help to insure that we will be able to maintain the great facilities and service indefinitely
2- The merger will allow us to raise many more charitable contributions from large corporations and others who are in our expanded geographic area. We will be able to provide OVER 2 million dollars in scholarships to needy families in our existing branch areas.
3- The merger will provide more job opportunities for our employees and it will allow us to attract top notch employees because of the "scale" of our organization. The key to providing great service to our members lies with our ability to attract and retain great employees.
4- The merger will allow the Freedom Valley Y to take advantage of "pilot" programs (like diabetes prevention) where substantial funding is provided to only large organizations. We will now be able to obtain funding for many pilot programs that we can not take advantage of now.
There are more advantages but these are the primary issues that drove our merger decisions

For those of u with little info about the merger and wonder where the racial undertones came from...most opposition was generated and fueled by a group of women from the spring valley branch. Fueled mostly by Susan touhey pytel they commented "they would be allowed to use our pools and stellar facilities" and "would allow camps to be bussed in when we pay qualifying rates". I am proud of my fellow yes voters. The people have spoken. If you are unhappy...feel your pools are "at risk"...or are simply unable to play nice in the sandbox....by all means join a country club or install a personal pool in your back yard.

I needed to respond, being that I grew up in the "thieving" "vandalizing" prone city the flyer seems to allude to, two things 1st, I live up here now, raising my kids & I'm white. I'm offended by the wording of the flyer, which in a not so subtle way, makes it sound like those of us from the city (which is home to much of my family) will come up here & ruin your suburbantopia, a place where it's all rainbows & butterflies, mini vans & play dates. I'm a transplant here from the city, so I've witnessed & lived, both sides of the coin. Do I know the city has it's issues, high crime rate etc..of course, who doesn't, just watch the news but there are issues EVERYWHERE, some just take different forms. But seriously, the flyer wording, made it sound like a crime spree apocalypse was going to occur with this merger..it's absurd.The fact is, the Y was started to help people, bring people together, some should start remembering that. The Y here, is a country club without the golf, so it's easy to lose sight of why the Y was started, it's about community, yes, but also helping, giving, not just spinning classes and poolside gossip. oh, and for those so outraged that the wording of the flyer is being compared to a form of bigotry...please, let's all be honest here, the wording is just what it is...a subtle way to scare people that "those city hooligans" are going to come in droves, by buses & take over.."dirtying up the place." Those with any common sense can read between the lines

Hey one of the goodofthegoodguys to imply Susan was racially motivated is downright slanderous and by using quotation marks you make it seem as if she said those things directly, did she? Also where is race mentioned in either of those comments??????? I know her very well and I think I outlined her reasoning quite well in my previous comment....I don't think almost 500 "no" votes were "fueled by a group of women" making comments with racial undertones as you imply. If you have ever visited our pool in the summer you would know that a very real concern for people would be Y summer camps bussing children of ALL races in to use the pool facility because of OVERCROWDING. I know we have been assured that this won't happen but again although many board members have contributed and said the information was available, the fear of CHANGE that people felt as a result of this merger was not handled well by upper mgmt at the Y. The portrayal of the people at the SPRING VALLEY Y as being snobby suburbanites who do not want their pool used by people of other ethnicities is just false and to accuse Susan or her "group of women" of being racist in any way is extremely offensive.

There are certainly many valid reasons for concern about the merger. Freedom Valley's leaders and other supporters are not saying all of the opposition is based on racial fears, just the creepy brochure and its coded language. The brochure and its mentality brings to mind the 2009 incident in which the Valley Club in Huntington Valley revoked its agreement with a North Philadelphia day camp for campers to swim there once a week after the children were subjected to racist and insensitive remarks in their first outing. Yes, those kids were bused in, too. And what happened to the club? The backlash and financial settlement caused it to file for bankruptcy and close.
As a white suburban woman who worked in the cultural mixing bowl of Center City for many years, I find it comforting and a source of pride to look around the Spring Valley Y and see women, men, boys & girls of so many races, ethnicities, ages, and levels of abilities being welcomed. It is the most diverse and inclusive institution I've seen in the 'burbs. I'm bettiong that most members feel that way, too, despite the brocure's transparent wording and the defensive cries that anyone who sees it as racist is overreacting.