LIBERTY TOWNSHIP -- The Lakota Family YMCA is making great strides.
Summer day camp, roller hockey leagues and swimming lessons are under way. Come August, new racquetball courts, a day-care center and climbing wall are scheduled to open.
"This is the exciting part -- when everything starts falling into place and things start taking form," Executive Director John Schaller said.
But Mr. Schaller said he doesn't expect to sit back: "As soon as this project is complete, I'll catch my breath, then start some strategic planning on the next area we want to grow to."
The Lakota YMCA is at 6703 Yankee Road. From meager beginnings in 1993,the facility has grown. The most recent improvement was an outdoor roller hockey arena.
Cincinnati's two professional minor league ice hockey teams helped celebrate the arena's March opening.
On July 4, Buster the Duck from the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks is scheduled to be on hand again to skate with the public.
The arena, along with the YMCA's outdoor swimming pool, will be open to the public at no charge this day as part of the township's annual celebration in Liberty Park.
Officials hope eventually to double the 5-year-old facility to more than 100,000 square feet.
Plans include a larger outdoor swimming pool, enclosing the existing one, a second-floor running track in the gym, and more meeting space for a senior citizen's center and game room, board President Greg Amend said.
The new Olympic-sized swimming pool will be the most expensive improvement, at an estimated $1.2 million.
But until YMCA membership -- which is approaching 600 -- reaches 1,000, it can't be done, Mr. Amend said.
"We'll raise money to build the new pool, but we'll need the additional membership to support the indoor pool's maintenance," he said. "The maintenance cost of an indoor pool is high."
Adding more meeting space for a senior center and game room will cost several thousand dollars and is probably next on the list. Membership will determine which route is taken -- through meetings and a survey.
