Now reopened as of mid-June, the center hopes to pick up where it left off.

“It’s basically a brand-new building when you step inside,” center Director Jonathan Ringel said. “If you have not been to the Y since the construction was complete, you would not even recognize the place.”

Renovations to the Y included a larger fitness center, complete with all new equipment; a remodeled lobby; new locker rooms; the addition of several family locker rooms; a total rebuild of the pool; construction of a new youth center; and the addition of a full-time, fully licensed preschool child care center.

“It’s been an unbelievable year for the YMCA,” Ringel said. “Who’d have thought we’d have a complete reconstruction of our facility, the launch of a full-time child care center and then a three-month forced closure all in the span of 12 months?”

The YMCA fitness center renovation included some $150,000 in all-new equipment. It features treadmills, ellipticals, adaptive motion trainers, air runners, free weights and machine weights. There is also a dedicated spin studio with 16 new bikes.

The state-mandated closure for three months forced YMCA officials to redraft their entire 2020 budget, as the YMCA was banking on increased membership in the immediate months after construction to support operational costs as well as increased staffing and programming.

“Like many businesses, it was a series of tough decisions in order to re-write and balance our budget,” Ringel noted.

The YMCA receives no tax money or funding from the city, county or state. Thankfully, the Y’s financial situation was eased by continued support from members and a PPP loan from the federal government. Y officials are hopeful much of the PPP loan will be forgiven once certain criteria are met in terms of re-hiring staff.

The YMCA was closing in on 1,200 units of membership, or roughly 3,300 individual members, ahead of the COVID closure, a record for the decade-old facility. And while YMCA management reported nearly 200 cancellations as a result of the closure, most members decided to continue supporting the Y at their regular membership or a special 50 percent support level that was offered.

“We are so thankful for that,” Ringel said. “Our members are simply the best. I think as a community, everyone understands the value of having a facility like this available. And it was tremendous to see that support continue while we were closed.”

The YMCA is reopening in stages. While the facility — minus the sauna — is fully open, the bulk of regular programming and services won’t be back to 100 percent until the fall sessions. The Y also is doing extra cleaning and promoting social distancing within the facility.

Fitness classes have restarted and are free to members this summer. Aquatics classes and swim lessons will soon begin. The only youth programming this summer is the popular summer day camp, open to ages 5 to 12. The YMCA opened camp June 15 with more than 30 kids enrolled, but can accommodate nearly double that amount.

In partnership with Systems Control, the Y’s Little Sparks Child Care Center recently celebrated its first full year of operation. That center is licensed for up to 48 children and is more than half full. The infant room has a waiting list, but space is available for toddlers and preschoolers, as the Y is in the process of opening a third classroom. Additional expansion is possible within the facility if demand warrants.

The center earned a three-star rating from Great Start to Quality in what was the first-ever review of the new facility in 2019.

“It’s been great to help meet the child care needs within the community, and we are thankful for the strong partnership with Systems Control,” Ringel said. “We really have a wonderful staff in there, and I know parents have appreciated all that we are doing.”

With its continued growth, the YMCA has been able offer more employment opportunities for the community. When the Y started here 10 years ago, there were just a couple full-time employees. Today the Dickinson Center employs nearly 75 full- and part-time staff.

The YMCA also raises $75,000 annually for scholarships, with support from individuals and businesses in the community, and helps provide membership and programming assistance to those in need.

While continuing to increase breadth of programs and services available to the community, the YMCA is also exploring ways to increase the value of membership. Lowering the cost of fitness classes, and recruiting top instructors and trainers are among some of the elements of that approach.

“Now that the Y is open again, we are excited about continuing our growth in membership and programming,” Ringel said. “We have exciting things happening and even more to come in the next several months.”