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By CHASE SQUIRES
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 22, 2000
DADE CITY -- A YMCA in Dade City may be just months away, if the ongoing fund drive can come up with $30,000 more.
East Pasco YMCA director Joe Mangione said Thursday the community has supported bringing a YMCA athletic center to town since the idea was floated last year.
The organization estimated it would need $200,000 to open in the city's Lindy Smith Civic Center along Meridian Avenue, Mangione said. So far, community donors have pledged $191,000, but some of that money will be donated over a five-year period, leaving a $30,000 gap.
Mangione said the $200,000 startup costs include some construction at the civic center, weight lifting and other equipment and a staff dedicated to the Dade City community. Money also would be used to subsidize memberships for families who cannot afford YMCA dues.
He countered some rumors that the Dade City YMCA would offer only a weight room and aerobics classes. A vast majority of the agency's efforts will be dedicated to community programs, outdoor sports for children and other programs throughout the city.
"Seventy percent of our work is going to be outside that little building," he said.
Mangione said he wanted to publicly thank the Dade City and Pasco County governments for cash contributions, along with other commercial and private donors.
"We're at the point now where anything, from $20 to $500 would get us that much closer," Mangione said. "It's that close."
If the YMCA can raise the needed $30,000 by mid November, Mangione said the downtown facility could be running by early next year.
The temporary downtown home is just the first step envisioned by YMCA supporters in Dade City. Developer Bill Nye of Zephyrhills has offered land the agency could use to build a permanent facility just west of Dade City, across State Road 52 from Pasco High School.
Donations can be made by calling Mangione or Lyn Hilton at (813) 780-9622.