ROCKLAND, Maine — The Penobscot Bay YMCA was the sole organization that submitted a letter of interest to operate the city’s recreation program.
The deadline was Friday as the city looks to consider an alternative to a city-owned recreation department as a way to save money. The City Council will consider an agenda item at its June 8 meeting to authorize the city manager to negotiate with the YMCA for a long-term lease of its facilities, which include the center and athletic fields.
“For the Y to be a good community partner, we want to take part in the conversation,” YMCA executive director Troy Curtis said Wednesday.
The YMCA, which has its main complex in neighboring Rockport, has a satellite center on the waterfront in Rockland, where after-school programs are offered.
The Midcoast Recreation Center in Rockport originally expected to submit a proposal but opted not to respond with a submission.
“The MRC will not be submitting a proposal at this time,” executive director Craig Wilson said in an email Thursday. “After serious consideration the MRC Board of Directors decided that, at the current time, this opportunity was not right for the MRC.”
The city recreation budget for 2015-2016 originally was proposed at $371,000 in expenses and $47,000 in revenues. Director Rene Dorr offered a proposal Wednesday night that would cut $125,000 in expenses, including his own position, as a way to preserve a city-run program.
The city recreation center is located in a building built as part of the Works Progress Administration in 1935. That complex replaced the YMCA, according to the local historical book “Shore Village Story.”