‘Win-win-win’ LTD, YMCA deal highlights value of community involvement

Presenter: A new YMCA is in the works for Northwest Eugene, thanks in no small part to Santa Clara community leaders and the important role they played in October 2020. As LTD prepared four years ago to sell off four taxlots at Hunsaker and River Road, Santa Clarians spoke out and halted the deal. Jeff Parker:

Jeff Parker (Oct. 21, 2020): Many residents in this neighborhood were shocked to find that this was on the agenda.

[00:00:24] And I would just like to correct one thing that (2020 LTD General Manager Aurora Jackson) AJ had mentioned was that the motion was not just to declare a surplus. The motion was to declare a surplus and give full control to the general manager for its disposal. And that’s very different than just declaring a surplus.

[00:00:38] Presenter: The former school site is critical to Santa Clara and River Road long-term planning. In October 2020, Kate Perle:

[00:00:46] Kate Perle (Santa Clara Community Organization, Oct. 21, 2020): Your choices have consequences, and they don’t exist in a vacuum. You’ve received years of support and advocacy from our organization when you sought funding for the transit station and when you wanted to amend our neighborhood plan to suit your needs.

[00:01:00] Choosing to disregard what could be a community win-win-win, with your transit station situated next to a vibrant urban plaza surrounded by a mix of services that neighbors want and need, is the height of hubris. And by all accounts, a poor choice on your part.

[00:01:15] Presenter: Back in October 2020, the LTD board quickly pulled that item from the agenda. Thanks to Santa Clara’s engagement, the whole region will now benefit. At a special LTD board meeting this week, YMCA CEO Brian Steffen:

[00:01:26] Brian Steffen (Eugene YMCA, CEO, March 12, 2025): I’m Brian Steffen, CEO at the Eugene Family YMCA. Here also with the YMCA, we have three of our board members, Rich Clark and Chip Radebaugh and Clarke Wallin, C.W. Wallin, and so thank you all for being here, and we’ve been excited about this opportunity for a while.  

[00:01:50] The YMCA has been in Lane County serving Eugene for a long time, since 1887, and over all of those years, we’ve had a lot of iterations and expansions of our work. The most significant one took place when we opened our new Y in December 2023. And since that point, Monday of this week, we hit 900,000 visits. Since we’ve opened, we have almost 19,000 members.

[00:02:22] And we’ve been working as an organization really thoughtfully around the topic of how do we expand the Y’s programs more broadly throughout the community and look for ways to serve more neighborhoods.

We know that households that have to travel more than 10 or 12 minutes to a YMCA are significantly less likely to have the health and education goals that they’re focusing on.

[00:02:51] And with that vision, we started looking at the community to understand those populations and neighborhoods we were providing the least service in. And very quickly, the Santa Clara / River Road area was one that was apparent for us, where only about 4.5% of our members live in those neighborhoods. And that led us to discussions today where we’ve been talking with LTD about this opportunity.

[00:03:19] Presenter: Later during that special March 12 meeting, LTD CEO Jameson Auten:

[00:03:25] Jameson Auten (LTD, CEO, March 12, 2025): This opportunity not only repurposes a valuable asset to a community that needs it, but it’s directly in alignment with the adopted neighborhood plans that were worked on since 2017 with both the Santa Clara neighborhood association and the River Road neighborhood association and adopted in 2024. So a lot of work has been done.

[00:03:47] This also is in alignment with the city of Eugene’s desire to reduce car commutes. The location of this property is right next to our Santa Clara Station. This was part of the purchase to build Santa Clara Station in 2015.

[00:04:02] So this is almost transit-oriented development in reverse. It’s almost in reverse. And that’s a good thing for the community.

I’d also point out that YMCA is much more than a place to go lift weights and get on the treadmill. It’s a place of community. We can go down there today and spend time in their community room.

[00:04:23] I’ve been down there several times and I see people do it. You can have coffee down there. It’s a child care center. I encourage you to tour it. But it’s more than just treadmills and weights. And this is something that that community has been asking for, is a community center to be able to gather and associate.

[00:04:42] So the term sheet is attached. It’s for an option to buy/purchase for just over $4 million. The highlights are in that paper in your packet and I’d be happy to answer any questions.

[00:04:54] Presenter: The first of three board members who served on a negotiating committee, Board Member Susan Cox:

[00:04:59] Susan Cox (LTD, board member): I would just say that from the very first time that we met, there was a real, think, feeling of connectedness between what the Y is doing and what LTD is trying to do. It just seemed like a very, very good fit. And as we moved along, it’s been very satisfying. So I look forward to it happening.

[00:05:18] Presenter: Board Member Kelly Sutherland:

[00:05:21] Kelly Sutherland (LTD, board member): I would ditto Susan’s remarks. 

[00:05:24] Presenter: Board Member Michelle Webber:

[00:05:26] Michelle Webber (LTD, board member): Yeah, I echo those remarks. And I just want to thank everyone who was involved in the negotiations, we had some questions on each side as we were kind of working through this and I just appreciate everybody’s efforts to get us to this place.

[00:05:39] Having worked at a YMCA back in my younger days, I’m excited to see this. I think it’s going to be really good for the community.

[00:05:45] Presenter: Pete Knox represents Eugene on the LTD board and is also a member of the YMCA:

[00:05:51] Pete Knox (LTD, board member): Thanks for coming, Brian, really appreciate you giving us your rundown. A long time Y member myself, I really like the new facility in South Eugene and look forward to something in the River Road area, which is truly underserved.

[00:06:04] I know that the Y many years ago had the thought of having a North Eugene or West Eugene second home, if you will.

[00:06:12] So as a Y member and an LTD board member, I think this is great for both organizations, and if you have a facility next to our transit station, I think it will be great for both of us. So, thank you.

[00:06:25] Presenter: After the purchase option was unanimously approved by the board, YMCA CEO Brian Steffen:

[00:06:31] Brian Steffen (Eugene YMCA, CEO): Well, thank you so much. We’re grateful for your support and the communication. From here, one of the things I wanted to share is that as a YMCA, we’re part of a rich national network of partners that can specialize in helping communities build new facilities.

[00:06:48] In October, our board had executed a contract with the national YMCA development partner named Gro Development for $250,000. And Gro now will start working with us to really do intentional community listening sessions and community engagement sessions so that when we build the YMCA in the River Road, Santa Clara area, they can feel that it’s a true community hub for them that reflects their needs around health, social engagement, community building, and youth mentoring programs.

[00:07:23] And so we’re thrilled by this opportunity and thank you for your support.

[00:07:28] Presenter: Thanks also to the community organizations encouraging LTD in October 2020 to seek a win-win-win. Their engagement was rewarded this week, as Eugene Family YMCA announced plans for future listening sessions about a new facility next to the Santa Clara transit station.