Who, What, When – and Y

Are you constantly craving sweets and want to understand why? Do you want to gain control without deprivation?

If so, please join Health Coach Sue Smith for a free lecture on how to beat the Sugar Blues, Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 pm in the Board Room.

For details, email Health and Wellness Director Shelley Moll at smoll@westporty.org.

Midge’s Membership Blog:

Well, it certainly feels like Spring … so, what better time than today to register for our Spring Session classes and activities?

New classes begin on February 27 and continue through June 17.

To view our Spring 2012 Program Brochure, click here. If you’d like to continue with a favorite class or already know which new activity you’d like to try, go straight to our easy online registration.

Ready to make plans for the summer? Registration is also under way for Camp Mahackeno and our Hafaday Summer Swim Lesson Program.

The Westport Weston Family Y will host a meeting on Wednesday, February 22 at 7 pm in the Board Room of the Bedford Building at 59 Post Road East. The purpose of this meeting is to provide additional information regarding the Family Y’s recent application to connect its planned new Y facility at Mahackeno Outdoor Center to the Town of Westport’s municipal sanitary sewer system. The Family Y will address an audience of homeowners in the neighborhoods adjacent to the Family Y’s 32-acre Mahackeno campus.

The Family Y had previously gained local and state approval to install and operate a septic system that would safely treat wastewater from the new Y facility on site. “Although we have complete confidence in the design and function of the approved septic system and will continue to plan for its installment pending this new application, there are good reasons to pursue the regulatory-approval process that would allow us to connect the new Y facility to the Town of Westport’s existing sewer lines,” says Bonnie Strittmatter, president of the Family Y’s volunteer Board of Directors.

Construction of the new Y facility is scheduled to begin in the Fall of 2012 and to be completed by late 2014. The Family Y will hold informational sessions for Y members and the general public regarding its current construction plans at dates to be scheduled in coming weeks. Due to time constraints and the availability of our development partners, the meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 22 will focus on the Family Y’s application to connect to the Town sewer system. This application will be reviewed by The Town’s Board of Selectmen, acting in its capacity as the Water Pollution Control Authority, at a public hearing to be scheduled by the Town.

Family Y officials and its construction partners, including Land-Tech Consultants, Inc., a local environmental and engineering consulting firm, cite the following benefits of utilizing the Town’s municipal sewer system:

1)   Preserve 1.5 acres of Mahackeno’s woodlands. Connecting the new Y facility to the Town’s municipal sewer system would save more than 100 trees on the camp property from being cut down in order to install the approved in-ground septic system.

2)   Further protect the Saugatuck River. By connecting the new Y facility to the municipal sewer system, wastewater produced at the Y facility will be processed at the Town of Westport’s recently upgraded, state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant, as it is now from the Y’s current facility.

3)   Support from previous Westport Conservation Commission. After the Conservation Commission approved the Family Y’s plan for a FAST septic system, a member of the commission at the time stated publicly that although the septic system meets all requirements, the entire commission would prefer that the Family Y’s proposed facility connect to the Town sewer.

4)   Reduced construction and ongoing operational costs. Installing a sewer line that would access the Town’s existing sewer system would result in substantial savings, thereby allowing more resources to be allocated to enhanced Y programs that will benefit local youth, families and the community as a whole. In addition, connecting to the Town’s sewer system would relieve the Town of the long-term costs and manpower of monitoring the septic system as required under the current approvals.

5)   Addressing public/neighborly concerns. During the approval process for the septic system, some local residents expressed concerns about the size and location of the septic system. Connecting the new Y facility to the municipal sewer system would dispel these concerns.

“We have a vision for our Family Y’s future; in fact a blueprint of it,” says Rob Reeves, Family Y CEO. “What we now need is the commitment and the generosity of our community’s leaders to help us achieve our shared vision of creating a sustainable new home that will help us continue to make Westport and Weston great places to live.” To join the Family Y’s “Building What Matters” campaign to fund and construct a sustainable new Y facility, please contact Rob Reeves at 203-226-8981, ext. 131 or rreeves@westporty.org.

Planning a “staycation” for the upcoming Winter School  Break, the week of Feb. 20-24? Then have your kids climb our walls, not yours, by signing them up for one of our popular school vacation programs. Note that our Hafaday Swim Lesson Program for the Winter Break is fully booked — but there’s still space in our April School Break program. For details, click here.

Vacation Gymnastics
Children ages six and up can learn and improve gymnastics skills during the Winter School Break at our afternoon Vacation Gymnastics and Swim program, held daily from 12 to 4 pm. A free swim is included each day. Bring a snack and a drink, and please be aware that children must be able to swim without a flotation device to participate. The cost is $165 for the week; $40 per day. (No Y membership is required.) To register, please click here.

School Age Vacation Special
Family Y After School programs provide a safe, fun and educational environment for 1st through 5th grade children from the time the school day ends until 6:00 pm. We offer After-School Programs for all Westport and Weston students. Held at Long Lots elementary school, the program includes gym time and outdoor play, art activities, table games and, importantly, homework help. There’s also a free swim weekly at the Y.

When school is in recess, like the upcoming Winter Break, our School Age Vacation Special program provides days packed with fun activities for 1st through 6th grade children and takes place at the Family Y. To sign up your child or learn more, click on this link or contact Tasha Dennison at tdennison@westporty.org or 203-226-8981, ext. 113.

Water Rat swimmers try to keep up with the "all you can eat" orders at this year's Pancake Breakfast.

This year’s annual Water Rat Swim Team Pancake Breakfast, held on Feb. 11 in the new Great Hall of Christ & Holy Trinity Church, was a tremendous success. “One of the best in years,” said Martha Corneck, an organizer of this popular fundraiser, which raises money for the Family Y’s Water Rat Y National Team.

While the Water Rats raised more than $1,000 to help our young swimmers compete on the national level, Senior Level Swim Coach Ellen Johnston points out the event’s role as a team-building exercise.

“It’s an all-team effort, with the kids doing all the food prep, service and clean-up,” says Johnston, who has been coaching and mentoring Water Rat swimmers for more than a quarter century. (Click here to read more about Ellen’s recent honors.)

“It’s a team event, but we had community-wide support,” Johnston adds, “Alumni, fellow students, their teachers — it’s amazing to see so many friendships and connections.” In all, the Water Rats served more than 250 breakfasts.

“I had to keep going out to get more supplies,” jokes Johnston. “More chocolate chips, even more pancake mix!”

See below for more photos from the day, and visit the Water Rat website for news about the team’s short-course championship season, now getting under way.

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2012 Water Rat Pancake Breakfast

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At a joint meeting held on Monday, Feb. 13, the Westport Weston Family Y’s volunteer Board of Directors and Board of Trustees voted to move forward with construction plans for the new Y facility at the Family Y’s Mahackeno Outdoor Center.

The Family Y’s new home will be built in phases, keeping pace with fundraising for the facility and ensuring the financial sustainability of the Family Y as a community center focused on developing youth, promoting healthy living for all and fostering a sense of social responsibility.

A Site Plan of the Family Y's Mahackeno campus, showing the phased construction plans for the new Y facility.

Construction of the new Family Y is scheduled to begin in October 2012, starting with a 55,000 sq. ft. main building that will include a competitive lap pool and family/teaching pool; Wellness Center; Gymnasium; three fitness studios; Child Watch area; five locker rooms; and other amenities of a modern, fully equipped and sustainable YMCA facility. “As more dollars are given, we’ll be able to expand our new Family Y and add the rest of the features envisioned in the original design for our Mahackeno campus,” said Bonnie Strittmatter, President of the Board of Directors.

“The Family Y will also explore opportunities to provide programs at other locations around the community to ensure that valuable and needed services are not interrupted, even if construction of dedicated facilities is delayed,” said Strittmatter.

Family Y members and the public will have an opportunity to review plans and designs for the phased-in facility at an informational meeting on Feb. 22, 7 pm at the Family Y. Family Y officials and its construction partners have notified the appropriate municipal and state agencies of its revised construction plans and will strive to secure all necessary approvals, if needed.

“While we regret that we can’t construct the whole facility at the same time, we are convinced that it is the most fiscally responsible thing to do,” said Jim Marpe, Chairman of the Family Y’s Board of Trustees. “As we explored our options going forward, including a thorough review of several recently built Y facilities in the Northeast, we realized that a ‘phased’ construction process is common. Not only does it make sense economically, it also gives us greater flexibility going forward to meet the evolving needs of the community we’ve served for nearly a century.”

Family Y Building Project Moves Forward

The Westport Weston Family Y has engaged Turner Construction Co. as its primary site-development and construction partner for the new Y facility at its 32-acre Mahackeno Outdoor Center. Along with Turner, the Family Y’s development partners include Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the building’s designer; Zubatkin Owner Representation; and Land-Tech Consultants, a local environmental and engineering consulting firm.

“We now have a complete team of highly professional, accomplished partners to help us bring this wonderful new building out of the ground,” says Steve Halstead, a member of the Family Y Construction Committee.

“Westporters know Turner as the company that has given us a long list of successful community projects, including the reconstruction of Staples High School, renovation of the Westport Country Playhouse, the brand-new Bedford Middle School and the Center for Senior Activities,” says Halstead. “They understand the Westport and Weston communities and what is required to complete local construction projects on budget and on time.”

As it enters the construction phase of its “Building What Matters” campaign, the Family Y has filed an application with the Town of Westport to connect the planned new Y facility to the Town’s municipal sanitary sewer system. The Family Y had previously gained local and state approval to install and operate a septic system that would safely treat wastewater from the new Y facility on site.

“Given the previously stated support of the Conservation Commission and that of First Selectman Gordon F. Joseloff, we are confident that our application to connect to the Town’s sewer system will be received favorably and approved by the appropriate local bodies without undue delay,” says Rob Reeves, Family Y CEO.

Family Y officials and its development partners cite the following benefits of utilizing the Town’s municipal sewer system:

1)   Preserve 1.5 acres of Mahackeno’s woodlands. Connecting the new Y facility to the Town’s municipal sewer system would save more than 100 trees on the camp property from being cut down in order to install the approved in-ground septic system.

2)   Further protect the Saugatuck River. By connecting the new Y facility to the municipal sewer system, wastewater produced at the Y facility will be processed at the Town of Westport’s recently upgraded, state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant, as it is now from the Y’s current facility.

3)   Support from previous Westport Conservation Commission. After the Conservation Commission approved the Family Y’s plan for a FAST septic system, a member of the commission at the time stated publicly that although the septic system meets all requirements, the entire commission would prefer that the Family Y’s proposed facility connect to the Town sewer.

4)   Reduced construction and ongoing operational costs. Installing a sewer line that would access the Town’s existing sewer system would result in substantial savings, thereby allowing more resources to be allocated to enhanced Y programs that will benefit local youth, families and the community as a whole. In addition, connecting to the Town’s sewer system would relieve the Town of the long-term costs and manpower of monitoring the septic system as required under the current approvals.

5)   Addressing public/neighborly concerns. During the approval process for the septic system, some local residents expressed concerns about the size and location of the septic system. Connecting the new Y facility to the municipal sewer system would dispel these concerns.

To join the Family Y’s “Building What Matters” campaign to fund and construct a sustainable new Y facility, please contact Rob Reeves at 203-226-8981, ext. 131 or rreeves@westporty.org.

“We have a vision for our Family Y’s future; in fact a blueprint of it,” says Reeves. “What we now need is the commitment and the generosity of our community’s leaders to help us achieve our shared vision of creating a sustainable new home that will help us continue to make Westport and Weston great places to live.”

Gymnasts from the Family Y Showtime Exhibition Team had a fun and productive day this past weekend. Saturday morning, these dedicated young athletes participated in back-to-back 2 1/2-hour workshops conducted by visiting coaches Randy Dorleans and Zak Kerkoulas, based at Chelsea Piers in NYC.

This is Randy’s 13^th season as a visiting coach at the Family Y.  Zak (shown at right) is currently training for the World Gymnastic Championships on rings, and we will most likely see him in the Olympics this summer. He also currently holds the Guinness World Record for the Roman Rings hanging duration (holding body in a T position on the rings.)

Later in the day, a group of  “Showtimers” traveled with head coach Sally Silverstein to a college gymnastic meet at Yale University. Participating teams were Yale, Springfield, Rhode Island College and the University of Bridgeport.  Westport Family Y’s coaches Caitlyn Perry and Carolyn Colon competed for the winning team, University of Bridgeport.

In the photo below of the Family Y gymnasts and UB team, Carolyn is first person on left bottom row, Caitlyn is 10 from left bottom row. Congrats to all our gymnasts!

Members of the Family Y Showtime Exhibition Gymnastics Team with the University of Bridgeport squad after their winning performance at a Yale University meet.

The Family Y has partnered with N2N to promote energy efficiency and environmental friendliness.  To do your part, we encourage you to sign up for a Home Energy Solutions assessment.  For $75, you’ll get $750 worth of energy assessment and in-home improvements.

David Cohen, the Family Y’s VP of Operations, had an assessment done in his home and was very pleased with the process and the results.  His son, Jake, a high school sophomore, produced this video of the experience.

The Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge is made possible by a $4.17 million competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the BetterBuildings initiative, whose mission is to create a self-sustaining building energy improvement market. Nine partner organizations work together to help the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge work for you.

The program is administered by the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and draws resources and experience from several partner organizations, including the Clean Water Fund, the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund, EarthMarkets, EMpower Devices, MIT, Mobile Genius, SmartPower, SnuggHome and the Student Conservation Association.

Participating towns include: Bethany, Cheshire, East Haddam, East Hampton, Glastonbury, Lebanon, Mansfield, Portland, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport, Wethersfield, Wilton, and Windham.

Get on board with this wonderful program.  You’ll be supporting the environment, saving money and earning $25 for your Family Y — ($25 of the $75 fee is earmarked to the local charity of your choice).