WEST ST PAUL, Minn. — A community in West St. Paul is upset tonight that their local YMCA is closing and it appears a Hy-Vee grocery store might open in its place.
For years, the YMCA on Thompson Avenue has been a gathering spot for many.
"I was there yesterday for nine hours," Kelly Kratzke said. Kratzke said for a city like West St. Paul where there is no centralized community center, the YMCA is a crucial spot.
She said the 50-meter outdoor pool is a sought-out amenity, one that's not common in the area.
"There are many people there now in their 80's--they go there daily," Kratzke said on the phone on Thursday. "For coffee, and to meet with friends, and to play pickle ball. And then they bring their children and their grandchildren."
The deal was sealed back in April when Hy-Vee closed on the piece of land the YMCA sits on. Kratzke created a Facebook group called SAVE OUR POOL - WEST ST. PAUL YMCA and also wrote up a petition because she was upset that the community didn't have any of its questions answered.
"She would just tell them, 'oh, we don't have a plan yet,'" Kratzke said, referring to what the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities Executive Director Katie Lowe told members.
Currently, according to Joan Schimml of the same group, it doesn't seem like they have plans that are available to the public. They said the YMCA will move to its interim location in Inver Grove Heights, which is less than two miles away from the current one on Thompson Ave. Schimml added in a statement, "the permanent YMCA location will be in the current service area and will be built to reflect the needs of the community."
Mayor Dave Napier of West St. Paul said he hopes the YMCA can work something out with the city to create what the residents have been looking for.
"We do not have a community center in our city and that's one of the hopes that I could be involved in finding a place to build a nice community center," Napier said on Thursday.
Hy-Vee's representatives did confirm that they are owners of the YMCA parcel but said they do not have any plans for the site that can be made public at this point.