YMCA not paying its utility bills

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December 17, 2009

By TRICIA NEAL, Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Thu Dec 17, 2009, 09:05 PM EST

Somerset — Early this year, Somerset city councilors struggled with a decision to help the financially flailing local YMCA. Following a vote in which Mayor Eddie Girdler was faced with breaking a tie, the city agreed to purchase the YMCA property and lease it back to the Y — provided that facility operators keep current on their payments.

YMCA board members learned this week that, while the facility is current on its lease payments, city utility bills reaching back to the last several months have not been paid.

The news was not welcome for several city councilors — some of whom had been placed on the Y’s board to help monitor the facility’s progress. However, YMCA Director David Cothron claims that Mayor Girdler is aware of the situation, and has even allowed the facility to skip payments.

Councilor and YMCA board member Tim Rutherford alerted fellow council members to the potential problem during a meeting earlier this week.

“They are up to date on their (lease) payments, but they don’t pay their utility bills,” Rutherford said.

“They haven’t paid any utility bills since June.”

Rutherford said the YMCA’s gas, water and sewer charges average around $7,000 per month — meaning some $35,000 hasn’t been paid.

“We need to look into this and see what’s going on,” he said, adding that he hoped Cothron would make an appearance at an upcoming city council meeting to explain the situation.

“They’re paying us our payment, but they’re just not making it,” he said.

“There’s going to have to be some decisions made. Taxpayers should not be out one dime for this. (The YMCA) had no debt, and now ... the taxpayers are still footing the bill for utilities, from what I can gather. ... It’s a serious issue, and we all need to be on board with this and know what’s going on. ... It’s going to have to be addressed in a manner that might not be pleasing to some, but we’ve got to do what’s right by the taxpayers.”

Councilor Donna Hunley, who also serves on the YMCA board, noted that the Y’s outdoor pool is one of it’s biggest expenses.

“Until they decide to close that pool, their income is not going to be sufficient to cover (their costs),” Hunley said.

The Commonwealth Journal contacted Cothron following this week’s council meeting. Cothron readily admitted that the YMCA hasn’t been paying its utility bills, but he didn’t place the blame on the outdoor pool or poor financial management.

Cothron said Mayor Girdler actually told him not to pay the Y’s utility bills while the city worked to lay new water lines in an effort to stop a severe water leak problem at the property.

The leak, which apparently began around July, caused the Y’s water bills to be “astronomical,” Cothron said.

“The mayor said the city would not charge us for water we didn’t use,” he said. Girdler told Cothron not to pay the bill until a later date.

“He said to just wait until they got the new water line laid,” Cothron said.

The new line was installed in mid-November. Cothron said he has not had a chance to discuss the bill with Girdler since then.

“I’ve been telling the board all this for two or three months, but some of them want to continue to make this an issue,” Cothron said.

“The mayor and I have been working on it. ... We’ll pay what our fair share is. We’re not going to try to short-change the city.”

Cothron’s estimates of how much the Y owes the city didn’t match Rutherford’s figures.

“Our utility bills are normally between $2,000 and $2,500 a month, so we would probably owe between $8,000 and $10,000 for that period if we had not had these incidents (of leaks),” he said. Cothron also indicated that the Y stopped paying the bills in August — not June.

“We’ve had positive cash flow in the last month or two,” Cothron said, adding that approximately 150 individuals had joined the Y during October and November.

“I don’t foresee any issues with making payments on anything.”

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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