BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LOVELAND -- Linda Baltes had a preschooler, a toddler and a child on the way when she started as chairwoman of a committee to get a recreation center in Loveland.
Now, as the product of those plans, a YMCA branch, is about to be born, her children -- Christopher, Ashley, and Chelsea -- are ages 10, 8 and 4.
Seeing the project move forward is "very exciting, especially after so many years of waiting," said Mrs. Baltes, a member of the YMCA planning committee, a former vice mayor and former chairwoman of the Joint Recreation Center Task Force.
"I think there will be a tremendous renewal of excitement about the project with the ground breaking," she said.
The YMCA of Greater Cincinnati likely will break ground this summer for a branch at Fallis and Rich roads.
Construction will take about two years and cost $4.5 million , said Brigid Swartz, the YMCA's public relations director.
Jerry Harrelson, president of the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati, will discuss the project at the Loveland council meeting Tuesday and at a special council meeting April 21.
Some type of community center has been under discussion nearly a decade, said Loveland Mayor Lee Skierkiewicz.
"The YMCA will add to the quality of life in Loveland," Mayor Skierkiewicz said. "And it also makes Phillips Park one of the premier recreation facilities in the Greater Cincinnati area. The YMCA and the city are partners in this venture."
