Hometown hero and businessman Shaun Alexander's bid to buy a former YMCA in Florence is a great example of a public/private partnership that extends goodwill to a community and saves the taxpayers money.

Alexander, a Boone County native and all-pro running back for the Seattle Seahawks, bid $1.8 million to buy the former Tri-City YMCA on Main Street in Florence, which is now owned by the county. The Shaun Alexander Family Foundation and Boone County are working out the details of a deal that would let Alexander operate the 22,000-square-foot facility as a nonprofit community center.

A 2000 Boone County recreational master plan revealed the highest priorities were for more swimming pools. So the county paid the YWCA $2.5 million for the facility. The county maintains a contract with the YMCA to run Tri-City as a community center through 2005.

The county was looking for private funding to secure naming rights for the community center. Enter Alexander. His proposal will broaden the scope of the center's goals while keeping the activities offered under the YMCA.

"We're going to continue to allow the many youth around here to excel, from physical activities to academics," said Durran Alexander, Shaun's older brother and foundation executive director.

Boone County Judge-executive Gary W. Moore, who announced the proposal at Wednesday's annual State of Northern Kentucky breakfast meeting, said the proposal could be a win-win for the county and the Alexanders. "We should all be proud by the fact that they are giving back to the community," Moore said.

The proposal would also continue a Boone County good-government model of privatizing formerly public services. Maplewood Children's Home and the Woodspoint nursing home, previously operated by Boone County, are now privately owned. The county also contracts out mowing at its parks.

Meanwhile, the Shaun Alexander Community Center has a nice ring to it. We hope the proposal comes to fruition.