Anaheim YMCA Vows to Stay Afloat : Setback: The debt-plagued branch was denied a merger that would have eased some of its responsibilities.

After losing a bid to merge with YMCA of Orange County, officials with the financially troubled YMCA of Anaheim vowed Friday to try to go it alone.

“Everybody is fired up, and we’re going to stick together to make this work,” said Michael Larkin, director of the Anaheim nonprofit youth organization.

It won’t be easy, however, because the 81-year-old YMCA is saddled with a debt of $800,500, $550,000 of it in much-needed recent repairs to its dilapidated facilities in the 1500 block of North Street.

It was the debt, combined with another $700,000 or so in deferred maintenance and retirement liability costs, that prompted the YMCA of Orange County’s board of directors to vote down the proposed merger Thursday night, said Gerald Nutter, director of the county organization.

The union, which had been under negotiation since last spring, would have made the independent Anaheim YMCA the ninth branch of the county organization. That would leave the YMCA of Orange the only other independent YMCA in Orange County.

Nutter explained that his board rejected the merger proposal after a financial audit showed the magnitude of the organization’s indebtedness, which has accumulated over the years.

“It’s just crippling them, but our concern is that we didn’t see with the $1.5-million load they would bring to the table how they would be able to pay it off,” Nutter said.

Even under terms of the merger, the new branch would still be responsible for its debts. The advantage, however, would be that the county YMCA’s headquarters would relieve the Anaheim office of duties such as payroll and personnel, Larkin said.

The setback comes at a time when the Anaheim organization has nearly doubled in membership from 750 to 1,480 in four years, raised annual revenue from $750,000 to $1.5 million and begun significant community outreach programs such as gang intervention.

Larkin said he is hopeful that agreements could be reached with their creditors to allow the Anaheim YMCA to remain open.

“We have tough issues facing us that we need to deal with,” he said. “I hope the community is there to support us.”