(Atlantic) Nishna Valley Family YMCA Executive Director Dan Haynes says the “Y” will have a soft-opening on Monday, May 4.
Haynes says per the governor’s news briefing on Monday, we are eligible to reopen the YMCA in limited usage starting May 4. “We will be modifying that per a “reopening committee” that convened last Friday,” said Haynes,
The committee included YMCA Board Members, Cass County Public Health, nurses, business members, YMCA members from several age categories, and several YMCA staff members. “The committee’s goal is taking the guidance from local, state, and federal agencies to open our facility safely and responsibly for our staff, members, and community,” Haynes said. “To that end, we will do a “soft opening” of the YMCA starting Monday, May 4.
The restrictions are posted below:
1. The pool, hot tub, and locker rooms will remain closed at least until May 18
2. Youth programs and child watch will continue closed.
3. Adult fitness classes will begin on a limited basis as instructors and time slots become secured. Classes are limited to 9 participants and an instructor until further notice.
4. Health screenings of staff and members who enter the building may be necessary.
5. Only Members 18 or older will be allowed inside the facility for the first week or possibly two. We will evaluate as we go and as we get guidance from health officials.
6. The back door will be locked. Members will need to enter the main front doors (east set) and exit the main front (west set) doors.
7. We will not be serving coffee or snacks or allow congregating in the fireplace or any area.
8. We will not be open the first weekend (May 9 and 10) as we evaluate usage and bring staffing up to full strength.
9. Adults will have a two-hour time limit in the facility at this time.
10. We will have masks available for all employees to wear if they wish, but it is not required. We will have a limited number for members if they want to wear one. You are welcome to bring a mask to wear.
11. Attendance in the building will be limited to no more than 50% of the fire marshal’s occupancy rating and no more than 10 in any one group while social distancing with 6 feet. At this time, we could have 150 people in our building at one time; however, keeping a distance of 6 feet from one another is mandatory. We cannot overload any one space, so there may be times when one area may be full, so we are asking everyone to be flexible. Some of the fitness floor equipment may be relocated to the east side of the back gym so that we do not run into space limits.
12. Since our summer hours are fast approaching, we will start with our Summer hours now: Sunday: 12:00pm – 5:00pm (not May 10) Monday – Thursday: 4:30am- 8:00pm Friday: 4:30am – 6:00pm Saturday: 7:00am – 5:00pm (Not May 9)
13. Sanitation stations will be located throughout the facility.
14. Some of the equipment on the fitness floor will be out of the use or moved to the Queenax side of the south gym for better utilization while social distancing.
15. We will use a fogger/mister to sanitize equipment and large areas of the building.
16. Locker rooms will remain closed. However, the bathroom portions of them will be available for members. The family locker room area will only be used for TLC/Summer Yers kids use at this time.
17. Increased signage to enforce social distancing and A-Machine-In-Between motto. (basically using every other machine to keep 6 ft distance)
18. Those who refuse to adhere to the current restriction will be asked to leave the facility.
19. We will not accept day passes or nationwide membership for the first week until we understand our usage patterns, at which time we will revisit.
20. The east side of the first gym will be generally be used and reserved for the TLC/SummerYers.
21. Basketball games, volleyball, racquetball, pickleball, etc. will not be allowed at this time as this includes passing of the ball back and forth. Two people may shoot at each basket as long as they each have their own ball, and social distancing is in place. Balls will be checked out at the front desk and sanitized before we hand them out. Users will wipe them down before they hand them back to the front desk.
22. Keep in mind that the Wickman Center and SummerYers Programs are still open and taking new kids.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us at 712-243-3934.
