Spartanburg YMCA eyes Harmon Field
Published 10:22 am Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The YMCA steering committee, created by Harmon Field, met last Friday with the Spartanburg YMCA to discuss the possible project. The meeting ended with YMCA officials saying they plan to establish a community committee that will hold meetings to determine if a YMCA is what local residents want.
The Spartanburg County YMCA is also currently reworking population numbers in the area to see if the population within a 10-mile radius is sufficient to support a YMCA. The numbers presented last Friday did not include the Landrum area and fell short of the YMCA&squo;s requirements.
Harmon Field Parks and Recreation Supervisor Jason Kilgore says that YMCA representatives are interested in first getting feedback from the public, and if the public will support a facility in Tryon, the Spartanburg County YMCA will make it happen.
The Town of Tryon and Harmon Field were previously in negotiations with the Henderson County YMCA to house a facility in the current community center at Harmon Field, formerly the Tryon Middle School library building.&bsp; Henderson County decided not to pursue the facility and the town began discussing the option with Spartanburg County.
The town has already begun fundraising for an indoor swimming pool for a YMCA and has already raised about $550,000 for the estimated $1.2 million needed for an indoor pool. The town also has another $150,000 promised donation to serve as matching funds to other money raised.