(Spirit Lake)– Supply chain issues and steep price increases are impacting some improvement projects at the Bedell Family YMCA and Camp Foster.
Y officials say work has been underway since this past March on renovating the Aquatics Center at the Y and the ongoing delays are resulting in them having to push back the reopening of the center. It’s now tentatively set for June 13th.
The higher costs for materials is also having an impact. Andrew Fisher, CEO of the YMCA of the Okoboji’s, says the increases have gone beyond the initial goal of what was raised through their “Igniting a Healthy Legacy Campaign”, which was nearly 100 percent funded in February, 2022. He says actual bids for the aquatic center renovations went up by 17 percent with the Camp Foster projects increasing by 40 percent. Fisher says that’s forcing them to move to a two-phased approach for construction. He says phase one, which will construction of the dining hall and airnasium at Camp Foster is scheduled for later this year.
Fisher says in the mean time they’ll continue to raise funds for phase 2 projects at Camp Foster, which will include construction of a new visitor’s center, Health Center, and camper cabins, along with additional endowment growth.
