November 20, 2024
Y Family,
Thank you for having the Y be an important part of your health, education and social journey. Each day we love seeing folks transforming their lives at the Y! 
Before launching into the topic at hand, I want to apologize for the length of this message. This message is focused on a nuanced and complex topic that requires background and context. At the Y we are keenly aware of the growing concerns with the number of people using the new Y. Not only do we see this first-hand during our workdays; but we also receive remarks in the hallways and in the community, feedback through our website, and comments on various online community forums.
These frustrations center their focus on a broad array of areas; however, at their heart, each is focused on someone feeling concerned with their ability to use their Y in the ways they would like.
I want to start by sharing a bit of background and context. 
- We have fully utilized the entire piece of property that we own on the corner of 24th and Hilyard. There is no additional space for the Y to add more parking or expand our facility.
- It would have been a financial impossibility for the Y to have built a parking garage as part of our facility. Every parking space in a parking garage costs tens of thousands of dollars to construct. Even if we had all the parking spaces we could ever possibly use, it would simply mean a lot more people would be in the new Y and seeking to use its spaces and classes.
- A bigger building on the same size site obviously decreases the size of the parking lot; however, we currently only have one spot above the code-required amount. Furthermore, a bigger building requires more parking spots, according to code, so you can see how constrained we would be for any given site.
- We have been prepared for times when the parking lot will be unusually busy. For example, the City of Eugene provided a significant level of support to the new Y in order to ensure that ultimate frisbee players could utilize the grass field to our south. Additionally, the Y hosts many community events and programs.
At the new Y, we are witnessing the fact that when an organization provides a thoughtfully designed, intentionally innovative, and deeply needed service, the demand will be high. The demand is high because the need is critical!
To these ends, I wanted to speak about a few specific questions, ideas or concerns:
1. Capping membership.
At the Y our focus is on being a community impact center; not on being a fitness center or an exclusive club. There are a myriad of concerns with a potential cap on membership. These include:
- To ensure that the Y is affordable and accessible, we provide over $1 million dollars’ worth of community benefit each year by reducing and discounting our membership fees for thousands of individuals and households. For many families, the Y is the accessible option for participating in an organization with the level of robust, and varied, health, education and social programming spaces and activities that we provide.
- Y membership is a part of participating in our YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program, LIVESTRONG cancer survivors’ program, Pedaling for Parkinson’s program, or Heart Health program. A membership cap could affect participation and be devasting to these participants and our mission.
- We have made an organizational commitment to accepting Y membership for various entities, organizations and individuals that are closely aligned with our mission. We want to honor these commitments.
2. Offering programming from our old Y.
Our old YMCA at 2055 Patterson was deteriorating quickly. We spent a significant amount each year to maintain the facility and those costs were increasing exponentially as the facility aged. Renovation was not a feasible alternative, according to trusted contractors.
3. Full group fitness classes.
We love the fact that so many people enjoy the Y’s group fitness classes, which is why we focused on significantly expanding the amount of group fitness classes at the new Y. We know that folks who participate in group fitness classes are much more likely to continue their health journey because of the friendships and relationships they build in those classes.
- Each month, we provide between 16,000 and 17,000 spots for folks to participate in our group fitness classes. However, each month we also have around 5,000 spots that go unfilled.
- Extremely popular classes fill quickly, however, some classes regularly have openings.
- This often has to do with timing during the day. We encourage members who have flexibility in their schedules to participate in classes at slower times of day and even try out a new class.
- There are two key aspects we focus on with our group fitness classes:
- If folks repeatedly reserve a spot and do not show up, we temporarily remove their ability to make a reservation in a class.
- We constantly review enrollment and modify schedules so that we are not dedicating critical space in our studios to classes with limited demand.
4. The Y is always busy.
This comment is not the reality. Just like any popular destination, the Y is busy at the most convenient times for folks seeking its services and programs. The following table shows average number of check-ins each hour for the first week, Monday through Friday, in November:
I highlighted the AM and PM three-hour blocks of time that are quite busy. There are times of the day when many classes are filled and many pieces of equipment are in use; however, there are also times when access to classes, equipment and spaces is much easier. If you have the flexibility, we encourage folks to attend at a less busy time
People encourage us to stay open later. However, as the table shows, on average we have around 23 people check in between 8 and 9 p.m. There is always plenty of space during our last operational hours of the day. We are exploring expanding our hours based on your feedback. If you have flexibility in your schedule to visit the Y earlier or later, please let us know when you would visit the Y by filling out this survey.
The following are some of the items in motion in the near-term (measured in months) and long-term (measured in years).
Near-term responses:
- We believe we have room for a few more in-demand pieces of equipment. We have ordered a second Matrix Hip Ab/Adductor machine, and additional Leg Extension and Leg Curl machines from Precor.
- We are developing video content to educate members about alternatives to their circuit machine workouts. These substitute exercises ensure they stay on track even during busy times.
- We are reviewing the group fitness class schedule to ensure that classes and spaces meet community demand.
- We are examining expansion of operating hours.
- We have requested that our landscapers avoid 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. because of their parking needs.
- We encourage members through signage and social media to use the frequently available, covered bike parking.
- Our partnership with LTD means increased access and understanding of bus routes for our members getting to the Y.
- We will begin to monitor our parking lot to discourage several-hours-long or full-day parking.
- We have new digital signage and staff training plans for our Health & Wellness Center to reinforce expectations; including not resting on machines between sets and allowing folks to ‘work in’ between sets.
Long-term responses:
There are only a few basic ways to address demand that is outpacing supply. Options include:
- Significantly increasing cost to decrease demand.
- As a nonprofit focused on serving the community, we strive to reduce cost as a barrier to attending the Y. Using a significant cost increase to bring about a decrease in demand would violate our core beliefs and values, so it's not something we would even consider.
- Addressing the current demand for Y programs and services remains our top priority.
- When the new Y was built, we understood that a single new facility would never be able to meet all of the health, educational, and social needs of a community our size. Many communities of our size have three to four YMCAs.
- Our solution ultimately lies in expanding the Y’s facilities in order to meet the needs of our individuals and households. Our board and staff leaders formed a task force to develop a plan to expand Y programs, services and impact through expanding our facilities.
In closing, I want to remind folks of a few things:
- All around us the world is becoming more separated, disconnected and lonely. Let’s all work together to help the Y be as welcoming as possible by seeking to show up in ways that are curious, kind, empathetic and supportive.
- Y staff are here to support you, but please remember that they cannot make spaces less busy. Beyond the increase in busyness, there has been an increase in negative and verbally abusive interactions aimed at our staff. We expect members to show up in the same ways staff do—by following our core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.
- We know that it can sometimes be uncomfortable to ask another Y member if you can ‘work in’ between their sets or to join their lane to swim; however, this is common and expected communication in a fitness center. When responding to these requests please remember that we are actively encouraging this behavior at the Y.
- This is your Y—I am just a temporary steward of a resource that tens of thousands of your friends, neighbors and ancestors have fostered over the past 137 years. As such, my entire focus is on helping the Y be impactful and meaningful in the lives of Lane County residents. If you ever have feedback or questions, please visit our website, scroll to the bottom, and click on the “Give Feedback” section to share a note. I review every note and a team of Y leaders and experts seek to respond to them in a timely manner. Many notes have wonderful suggestions and kind words of appreciation. Thank you for those! Over the years I have been the CEO of your Y, I have regularly sought to make myself available. Since we have so many new folks as part of our Y family, I’ll take this moment to once again pass along my cell number: (541) 729-0533. My dream is for our community to feel that their Y is being stewarded in a responsive, impactful and thoughtful way. I feel that I can do this best when our community feels that I am available and authentically seeking to listen.
Onward,
Brian Steffen
CEO
Eugene Family YMCA
P.S. Again, we want to hear from you! If you have flexibility in your schedule to visit the Y earlier or later, please let us know when you would visit the Y by filling out this survey. This will help Y leaders determine the feasibility of expanding facility hours.
P.P.S. I want to thank you for being such an amazing part of YOUR new Y. This is a resource that our entire community came together to make possible. Yes, there are times of the day your Y is busy; however, the busyness is the result of heroic efforts by many donors to help transform the health, education and social outcomes within our community; and the new Y is living up to this charge in powerful ways.
The busyness has not dampened our joy at seeing thousands of people visit the Y each day; rather, it has energized us to expand your Y’s presence, programs, facilities, and services in significant ways in the coming years.
We imagined that the new Y would transform lives and we have experienced the confirmation of this imagination. 
Now it is up to our community to recognize how important this resource has become for tens of thousands of individuals and seek to expand these opportunities in broader and more innovative ways.
Finally, if your schedule only allows you to use the Y during its busiest times please know, at the Y, we are not competing against other fitness facilities or community spaces in town. Rather, we are competing against loneliness, isolation, hopelessness, illness and disease. There are many wonderful resources in our community. It is our sincerest hope to be able to meet the needs of our members; however, if we are not able to temporarily do that due to high demand on our existing spaces, we would hope that members connect with any community resource that can help them at this stage of their journey.
