Dear Charlottesville Community,
Many of you have seen the editorial in the Daily Progress that stated my feelings about the shameless blocking of the YMCA facility. I have met with the owner of ACAC, Phil Wendel, who is the money and leader behind this. I appealed to him to think about the greater Charlottesville community and the many families who do not have access to the high class facilities that he owns. I suggested he could leave a legacy to this town, instead of the bad public relations that this is causing, especially among the many members of his club such as me. I thought ACAC was about "We Change Lives", but apparently only for those who can afford it.
There has been no action to date to look for a win-win. The basis of the lawsuit as I understand it from talking to Mr. Wendel, is that he should not have to compete with a business that gets land for free from the city. There is obviously a need and he must be a part of that solution. He could immediately be a hero for this community. However, it is 2 months after the construction was supposed to start, and it is being delayed for what I believe is nothing but greed and ego. Afterall, Mr. Wendel is a prominent member of the International Health, Raquet and Sports Club Association who's mission seems to be to destroy or oppose Y's or other non-profit health club facilities.
Join me now with your words of support, especially ACAC members! Tell Phil Wendel and the ACAC and Legacy Management group teams that we love their facilities and organization, but we love Charlottesville even better and will not stand by and allow this to happen in our town.
Like Lisa and her family, my family were members of ACAC for over 10 years. We enjoyed the facility and meeting the great people working at ACAC and those who were working out there. We terminated our membership this past year as a way to express our concern that ACAC was taking such a harsh stand against the YMCA, one of the most American of all institutions and not-for-profits in the US. We need the value that a Y would bring to Charlottesville-Albemarle. Y's are much more than a fitness center. They are the glue that helps hold our community together. We are sharing our story with our many friends and professional colleagues.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that a group of for profit health and fitness organizations have banded together to essentially block the building of a not-for-profit community organization DISGUSTS me. This lawsuit and its continued "modifications" are nothing more than an attempt to delay the Y into oblivion. How is this good business? Do the ACAC members KNOW that Mr. Wendell offered to sell ACAC Adventure Central first to the Senior Center, then to the Y??? If he is so concerned about the community why doesn't he just donate the land and property to the County for use as a Y facility, and take a tax write-off? Is Mr. Wendell Cville equivalent of Wall Street's Gordon Gecko - "Greed is Good?" And why hasn't the community and media come to a better defense of the Y project?????
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ReplyDeleteHello Mr. Wendel-
ReplyDeleteMy family of five are full facility ACAC members and over the past five years we have consistently enjoyed the programs and services you offer. All three of my sons learned to swim in your pools and are proud members of the ACAC JSL swim team (Coach Helen is phenomenal), two of my boys are members of your youth lacrosse program (Coach Al is a family favorite), my wife religiously participates in your fitness classes, she and I have enjoyed date nights out after dropping our sons off at “Kids Nights Out.” ACAC is an important part of our lives and we are grateful to be able to afford our membership.
Two of my sons are also members of the CYAC swim team and I am struggling to reconcile our patronage of your clubs with your recent litigation targeting the new YMCA in McIntire Park.
As a parent of competitive swimmers and lacrosse players I am regularly frustrated and saddened by the lack of high quality facilities to support both of these sports in our community. We regularly travel to towns and cities across the mid-Atlantic region that are blessed with aquatic centers and lighted athletic field complexes and we just can’t reconcile how the Charlottesville community accepts the lack of such facilities in our active, well educated, and vibrant community.
For this reason, when an opportunity to build such a facility arises, it is quite remarkable to see the range of self-interested constituencies that line up to fight against something that is so badly needed. As a fitness-minded person, I have always believed that more is better, especially in a community that lacks “lanes and lights.” I am a person who actually believes McIntire Park will be made better by adding the Y complex.
I do appreciate that you are an entrepreneur and a successful businessman. Being forced to compete on what you consider to be a un-level, government subsidized playing field must be frustrating, but I have to believe there’s enough capacity in this market for a new facility that it seems will thrive primarily in a niche that your business doesn’t target.
Our community needs your leadership to help us find solutions that address the lack of safe, vibrant places where our teens can be productive and healthy. I wince whenever I read see stories about problems with youth on and around the downtown mall, maybe if there were more lighted playing fields or adequate aquatics facilities, kids would be swimming or running in the evening rather than loitering.
My request is that you simply reconsider your position on the new Y facility and perhaps consider ways that we can find solutions that strengthen our entire community rather than leading zero-sum efforts where for some to win others must lose. The optimist in me wants to believe that there is a better way.
Respectfully,
Bill Ashby
Dear Mr. ACAC,
ReplyDeleteAs a new resident to Charlottesville looking for a place to exercise, I was surprised to find that there was no Y in town. Thankfully, for all those who can afford it, there is Wendel's World. But what about the families that can't afford the new reduced family rate of $175-$250 per month? As a nation we are in a crisis situation attempting to find ways to remedy childhood obesity. I find it appalling that a group of prosperous businessmen (CAFCOA) have tied up work on the proposed Y facility. And don't tell me, Mr. Craytor, that the suit is "not motivated by business interests." This legal maneuver is a lose/lose situation. The children and families lose because you have hijacked their Y. And you lose, gentlemen, because you will be tried in the court of public opinion and found wanting in charity and generosity.
There is a Wendel named Phil
ReplyDeleteWho I guess is a bit of a pill.
He appears pretty lame
“Cause greed is his game
As long as it’s filling the till
When we learned of the Y we were glad
Now Wendel is making us mad
You know how his sort
Likes to take us to court
Even though it makes him a cad
He’s hoping the lawsuit will stall it
Cause his only concern is his wallet
But we’re not going to cower
Just because of his power
It’s a ploy, that’s all you can call it.
The Y’s for the good of all folks
But now we’re enduring this hoax
For one man to block it
To keep filling his pocket
Will make him the butt of some jokes
With luck this all will resolve
And Cville will always evolve
But with Geckos like this
It could be hit or miss
We’re just hoping his greed will dissolve
I am an ACAC member, having joined when I moved to Charlottesville almost 5 years ago. I am fortunate to be able to enjoy the terrific features of ACAC, but, I am considering discontinuing my membership over this undemocratic approach to blocking the building of a Y which would be used by folks in our community who cannot afford ACAC services ( a different demographic, Mr. Wendel). I want their families to be healthy, too! Please consider how you can help all Charlottesville residents have an affordable place for fitness enhancement and you could become a hero for us all.
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