Deal on Parkland May Aid YMCA

The YMCA of Greater Whittier may benefit from a land deal between the city and a regional conservation authority.

The City Council is considering spending $2.1 million in proceeds from the pending sale of a 200-acre park to pay off the YMCA’s debt to the city. A decision is expected as soon as next week.

Councilman Bob Henderson said the bailout agreement would end up saving the city more than $100,000 a year in interest payments on a loan it took out several years ago to help relocate the club after its former facility was damaged in the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake. So far, the YMCA has repaid only $270,000 of the city’s $2.5-million loan.

Money for the deal is expected to become available soon, with the sale of the city’s Hellman Park to the Whittier / Puente Hills Conservation Authority, an agency consisting of officials from Whittier and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

The City Council approved a deal last month in which the authority will purchase the park for $2.25 million and manage it for 10 years. During that time the city will contribute $30,000 a year to the authority to help maintain the park.

At the end of the 10 years, Whittier expects to buy back the park property for $1 with the understanding that it will keep the property as a wildlife preserve, according to city reports.

Despite its yearly interest burden, the council has not pressured the YMCA to repay the balance out of gratitude for the free services the club provides, Henderson said.

“What are you going to do, foreclose on the YMCA?” he asked.

Hugh Davis, president of the YMCA’s Whittier office, said the bailout would allow the club to provide more services.