YMCA, Darien Board Of Education Facilities Agreement Up For Renewal

DARIEN, CT — The Darien Board of Education on Wednesday is scheduled to take up a lease renewal between the district and the Darien YMCA.

According to a memo to Superintendent of School Dr. Alan Addley from Richard Rudl, director of finance and operations for Darien Public Schools, the district executed a facilities use agreement with the YMCA in September 2021, which, for the first time, spelled out shared facilities between both organizations.

According to the agreement, the YMCA's indoor pool facility and locker rooms were made available to Darien High School swim teams for 500 pool hours before school, after school and on Sundays.

Additionally, the gymnastics space has been available for to the DHS gymnastics team for a total of 100 hours.

The board of education provided the YMCA with the in-town rate per participant for its summer camp programs, and makes available to the YMCA 2,920 hours of gym space at no fee for the YMCA basketball program.

The YMCA agreed to reimburse the board of education for any custodial overtime costs associated with the basketball program.

Rudl said in his memo that under the agreement, the board of education has saved over $76,000 over the last two years because of the agreement.

The agreement must be renewed no later than April 30, 2023.

"The agreement continues to work out very well for both sides and we strongly recommend extending the agreement for another year," Rudl said, noting that Darien YMCA CEO Jennifer Gardner has agreed and would like to see the contract extended.

Wednesday's board of education meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. It will be held in-person and broadcast on YouTube. Those wishing to participate in public comment should join the meeting via Zoom.