LETTER: Writer tells why he prefers current facility to YMCA

The recent article in The Newton Kansan and recent letter to the editor from Mr. Hake both had comments that intimated opposition to the new YMCA proposal was due to naysayers and those too tied to their “comfy chairs” not wanting to make a change.

I’d love a nice, new chair, but I just don’t have the money. I understand new development is essential for a town’s growth, but I can also relate to those who have to pay for things others want.

Tax abatements and money incentives they pay for are going to a neighborhood they can never afford to live in. The new golf course has been great for Newton in magazine articles and golfing publications, but it doesn’t appear to have made much of a difference to the majority of people living here. Yes, I know the argument … give it time.

I don’t doubt the logic in that, but people deserve a little return on their investment before they should be expected to toss more money at a problem. My problem with the YMCA proposal is there is a possibility the Newton Activity Center will be dissolved. Too many children in this town can’t afford to lose it. Membership fees are one issue. Access is another.

A facility off Interstate 135 may be great “buzz,” but tell that to the kid who lives across town from it.

Newton Activity Center leagues are affordable. My experience is the YMCA will have leagues that will be geared to more upper/middle class financial capabilities.

I’m not so much against a YMCA as I am against dissolving what we already have. It may not be off I-135. It may not be brand new and shiny. It probably won’t draw folks to Newton, but it is serving dozens of families and hundreds of kids who need it.

My feeling is that group deserves at least that much. I sincerely hope those who want a new center can get it but not at the cost of forgetting those who will also have to pay for it.

If it comes down to the Activity Center or the YMCA, I suppose that will make me a naysayer, but don’t write off my reason as being simple as you want to make it.

— Anthony Cuellar,

Newton