Recently, officials from the Village of Ellenville and the Town of Wawarsing met with representatives from the Ulster County YMCA with an eye towards reconfiguring the way in which each municipality finances and administers its youth programs.

Currently, Ellenville contributes $46,000 a year to the Ellenville-Wawarsing Youth Commission. The commission represents an alliance between the village, town and YMCA to provide area children with a variety of youth programs. That cost accounts for, in part, the salary and fees required to run various programs throughout the school year.

During the summer, when the village administers its summer recreation program and maintains the pool at the Ellenville Central School campus, the municipality can spend anywhere from $60,000 to $90,000 per year depending on the condition and needs of the pool. That brings the village's cost (excluding the Police Athletic League and Youth Court) to between $106,000 to $136,000 for its youth services.

In 2006, the Town of Wawarsing spent $24,376.69 for the Kerhonkson Pool's payroll, gave $15,000 to the Ellenville Pool, $3,500 for Ellenville's Summer Recreation Program and $37,696.17 went to the YMCA for a total of $80,572.86.

In the hopes of putting together a more comprehensive program at a better value, both municipalities approached the YMCA to create a program that would be entirely administered by the youth organization. The YMCA returned to the village and town a proposal that would cost $238,913.00 [see sidebar for cost breakdown].

Proposed Programs And Estimated Costs For YMCA Youth Programs 2008 Ellenville Pool June 30, 2007 – August 30, 2007 Open Mon. – Sat. 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. $ 31,743 Kerhonkson Pool June 30, 2007 – August 30, 2007 Open Mon. – Sat. 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. $ 26,933 YMCA Summer Camp Program June 30, 2007 – August 30, 2007 Open Mon. – Sat. 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. $112,237 Youth Commission Costs For School Year $68,000 Total Cost: $238,913

Village mayor Jeff Kaplan has gone on record saying that the village would be willing to split the cost of the proposed program evenly with the town, resulting in a price tag of $119,456.50 for each municipality. The program could also carry a fee that would be charged back to participating families although there are those that feel residents should not have to pay.

While village officials have been pushing for a change in the administering of local youth programs, town officials have been reluctant to approve their share of the funding for the proposal.

Predictably, this has led to some tensions on behalf of the village.

"The Y did what they asked them to do. They put together a great proposal. And we are ready to move forward and match the town's share. [At this point] we're waiting for a response from the town," said Mayor Jeff Kaplan.

Kaplan went on to say that the move to a YMCA administered program would allow the village to "get out of the youth recreation business."

When asked if the delay in this process will threaten youth programs for 2008 Village Manager Elliott Auerbach offered an ominous forecast saying, "We may have jeopardized our summer recreation program." Auerbach went on to say that the village may be forced to approach the YMCA for a scaled back version of the program offered for the upcoming summer season.

"What's happening is that I think we're losing sight of the group receiving these services — the kids. They don't have a voice," concluded Auerbach.

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