Opposition growing for YMCA sports partnership

Cypress sets process to fill vacant seat

Citizens lined up at the Feb. 10 city council meeting to express their misgivings about the city of Cypress’ proposed “partnership” with the Anaheim YMCA.

Further, citizens also complained about the city’s apparently use “selective communications” with citizens about controversial projects.

The back-to-back pleas from residents came during the public comment period of the meeting as the city envisions handing over administrative control of its recreation programs to the Anaheim YMCA.

The city recently announced an “unsolicited proposal” to merge the city recreation programs with the Anaheim based YMCA, which they claim would be a cost saving measure. The city of Anaheim has a population of 340,000 residents compared to approximately 50,000 for Cypress.

In a variety of responses, residents expressed perplexity about why this even happening, and one resident, Brooke Nafarrete said she heard that “somebody on the (YMCA) board is married to somebody on (city) staff.”

Nafarrete also questioned the “fuzzy math” of financial information she requested about the project, questioning by Cypress recreation is paying more than $70,000 in “fringe benefits” for a recreation program in the first place.

As a project manager, she said “when there is a partnership, both sides should have a benefit. After studying the city’s proposal, “I cannot seem to figure out how the youth (of Cypress) benefit from the YMCA’s takeover of Cypress Recreation.

Christian Jackson, a long-time coach, board member and advisor to Cypress recreation programs actually pleaded with the council not to move forward with the plan. “Please don’t just hand over the basketball program to the YMCA without listening to our residents,” he said.

Further, he said if it was simply an issue of money, “People I talk to are willing to pay double” to keep the programs in Cypress.

Brittney Cook also suggested citizens are willing to pay more “to keep it here and find a way to make it work.” If the program is merged with the YMCA, she suggested it “would have really negative consequences for the children; and that is who matters most.”

Nafarrete also complained about the city’s lack of communication about the Shea Homes public hearing, saying she could not find it even listed on the city’s web site.

City manager Peter Grant said the city has never advertised community meetings for third party projects. Further, Grant said the city has unveiled its own mobile app to improve communications between the city and its residents since the “fall of local media.”

He also rejected any impropriety saying the city “does not hold meetings just to say that we had them.”

Makela Bowen?, a 13-year-old Cypress resident, urged the city not to transfer the recreation program to the Anaheim YMCA. Currently, she said such a move would be like breaking up a “real family.”

Further, she said, from a competitive perspective, the YMCA “doesn’t even compete” with the level of play in the Cypress program.

Mayor Ron Johnson said the city is currently evaluating the YMCA proposal before making a final decision.

City employee Adrian Smith gave city officials and the public a walk-through of the local Cypress city app that is now available in most mobile app stores. It will allow residents to transact much of their interaction with the city using a mobile phone.

Cook, while she did complain about the YMCA proposal, gave the city props on the app. “I downloaded it today and whomever was in charge of this did a great job.”

In other action, the city of Cypress:

  • Heard from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) that is was selected by Money Magazine as the nation’s #1 university, with more than 32,000 students, nearly 25 thousand employees and a $5 billion economic impact.
  • Learned that SoCal Gas has appointed a local management team for an upcoming gas pipeline upgrade project to affect the city of Cypress.
  • Heard complaints from several recreational vehicle owners regarding the lack of communication about recent rate hikes and permit changes that were putting them at a parking disadvantage.