The former YMCA building on Fairford Street has been hit by vandalism after one or more culprits broke into the building and damaged one of the fitness rooms.
The break-in occurred on Oct. 4, after employees with the parks and recreation department came across the damage on Oct. 5, explained parks director Derek Blais. Parks employees have visited the building every day conducting security checks since the City of Moose Jaw assumed control of the building after the YMCA shut down in July. The municipality had leased the land to the Y, while the organization owned the building.
The vandals gained access after forcing open one of the external emergency exits. That would be a tough thing to do, Blais said, since someone would need a tool to crack open the door.
“I’d prefer if (this vandalism) didn’t happen,” he continued. “I think it’s really sad that they would vandalize a building in our community, not only this building but any building or (even) someone’s house.”
There have been four instances of unauthorized entry into the building, but this was the first time there was significant damage.
Damage occurred in one of the fitness rooms, with mirrors, internal windows and walls broken or damaged. It took parks employees a few days to clean up the mess. Blais estimated that the cost to replace just the mirrors would be $6,000.
Municipal staff conduct daily security checks within the building and have reviewed all the access points to ensure they are chained up or barred to restrict access, said Blais. He was unwilling to say whether the municipality was taking extra steps to enhance the security of the structure for fear of “tipping anybody off.”
“The steps we’ve taken are more in regards to our own staff safety and ensuring people aren’t going in their alone,” he continued, “that (if) there’s any visible sign of entry that we’re taking the proper precautionary measures.”
Future plans for the building are unknown right now, although it is up for discussion during the 2020 budget deliberations. One option is to demolish the building for $295,000. Blais pointed out the building is in rough shape and cannot be used in its current state. The utilities have also been shut off to minimize costs.
Another option is to invest $2 million into restoring the building, but Blais remarked that would still not make the structure useable for the public. To make it fully accessible and useable would likely cost $4 million.
“I hope a decision is made in the future so we can begin to plan for it,” he added.
