Representatives of the Wood River Community YMCA were betting the numbers this week, and Lady Luck was on their side.
"This is meeting number seven," Andy Barnard, architect with Colorado-based Sink Combs Dethlefs and a member of the YMCA's design team, told the Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission Monday. "We're hoping it's lucky meeting number seven."
Indeed, P&Z members approved the YMCA's project design by a 3-1 vote during their meeting July 11, finalizing the issue for their five-member planning panel.
The Ketchum-based YMCA is proposing an 84,155-square-foot recreational facility to be built on the south-central section of the city-owned Park and Ride lot, at 101 Saddle Road.
Snow storage and parking continued to be issues for Commissioner Anne Corrock, who voted against the design.
"The parking doesn't satisfy the (city) standards as I understand them," Corrock said.
But YMCA Executive Director Teresa Beahen, who previously ran YMCAs in Minnesota and Colorado, assured the commission those issues would not cause problems.
"I have run YMCAs for 22 years," Beahen said. "There's much more snow in Minnesota. Both locations I managed had no snow storage. We had to remove it. I've never had the good fortune to put snow in my parking lot. It just wasn't an option."
Beahen also noted that the YMCA will open at noon on Sundays, so visitors wouldn't compete for parking spaces with the neighboring Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood. Also, YMCA events would be coordinated with church and city events to lessen the impact on the parking lot.
The project's footprint prompted some commissioners to lament its size, but overall they were pleased with the look of the building.
Commissioner Deborah "Burnsie" Burns expressed concern about increased pedestrian and bicycle traffic on the adjacent multi-use path.
"With the skate park, Rotary Park and now the Y ... the bike path is really thin in comparison to the traffic it's going to take," she said.
Beahen said the city has applied for a $1.4 million grant that could make circulation improvements.
The city is also working on reworking a portion of Warm Springs Road, which could include a new bike lane on the south side of the road.
"This whole quarter begs to be master planned," said city Planning Director Harold Moniz. But, "for (the YMCA) to start shifting the bike path around sort of jumps the gun a little bit."
Landscape architect Kurt Eggers said 15 trees would be relocated to the south end of the property and 24 trees would remain where they are.
"Five will reach their demise," he said.
The P&Z in May recommended approval of the planned unit development application for the YMCA, which will be considered by the Ketchum City Council.
