Senator Collins has secured $500,000 for the YMCA’s proposed multi-purpose facility
Nov 20, 2025
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Geddy’s.
BAR HARBOR—Throughout the late summer, the MDI YMCA has been slowly unrolling what could potentially be a $13-million plan to expand and update its Park Street building and offerings.
On Tuesday night, board member David Woodside presented its facility plan to the Bar Harbor Town Council, but did not go into specifics as to cost or details.
“We want to keep you apprised of what’s happening down there and what we hope to do,” Woodside said. “We’re looking to do some renovations to the now 25-year-old building.”
Earlier fundraising materials have said that the expansion would likely include a youth development wing. This was briefly mentioned by both Woodside at the council meeting and Senator Susan Collins.
More space in the second floor wellness center, renovations for the shower and changing areas, and an indoor/outdoor multi-sport court building are possible changes.
The YMCA’s presentation to the council came after Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced that she’d secured $500,000 for the YMCA’s proposed multi-purpose facility for pre-school, after-school, and community programs.
”The current gymnasium is at its maximum use, and the Youth Development Wing will allow for multi-purpose uses (such as for youth ‘clubs’ such as Lego and chess clubs) including both the existing (and to be expanded) pre-school and after-school programs,” Senator Collins’ office had said.
In an email response to the Bar Harbor Story, Wednesday, MDI YMCA CEO & Executive Director Ann Tikkanen said that the Y has been working for two years developing ideas to improve and expand the campus.
She also confirmed that the main elements of the plan include “much needed renovation and expansion to existing program areas, 2) a new youth development wing, and 3) a field house that would function as a multi-sport court for a large variety of youth and adult recreational sports.”
Tikkanen said that they “plan to conduct fundraising and are in what the fundraising profession would describe as the quiet phase.”
“For more than 125 years, MDI YMCA has provided important support and services to communities on the island,” Senator Collins told the Bar Harbor Story earlier Tuesday. “This funding will allow MDI YMCA to expand pre-school, after-school, and other impactful community programs to additional families throughout the island. As the Chair of the Appropriations Committee, I worked hard to secure this important funding.”
The Y, Woodside told the councilors, is exploding with use, which is why it wants to build a youth recreation wing.
Councilor Earl Brechlin asked if all of the expansion was on the existing town lot. Woodside said it was.
“We have a fundraising plan. We have a conceptual design and this work has been going on for a time, but before we take the next big steps, we just wanted to update you as the administrators of the town as to what’s going on down there, what we hope to make happen,” Woodside said.
The town has just changed the funding mechanism for the MDI YMCA to memorandums of understanding negotiated with Town Manager James Smith and then approved by the council. Last year, the town council had allocated $180,000 in its budget to the organization.
SUMMER SOFT LAUNCH
At a Mount Desert Island YMCA Gathering of Leaders, August 7, at a residential home on Bridge Street, Tikkanen, Community Advocate Jill Goldthwait, and Jon Simons of Donor by Design all spoke to the capital campaign. Goldthwait is a former town councilor and state legislator.
On August 12, Gro Development presented potential costs for discussion purposes. The grand total at that time was approximately $13 million. The building addition and renovation would be close to $11 million. The “field house” would be just under $3 million. Those numbers were not discussed at the council presentation on Tuesday and include both hard and soft costs.
On August 17, the Mount Desert Island YMCA’s Heritage Society Luncheon also heard from Tikkanen, the Bar Harbor Historical Society’s Erin Cough, and Chrissi Maguire of Mount Desert Island Hospital. All spoke to the connections between the three agencies.
Both Cough and Tikkanen serve on the town’s parks and recreation committee.
A campaign packet given out labeled “Anchoring Our Community’s Future,” discussed the reason for the campaign as well as places where the Y felt it could grow.
According to the YMCA, it served 2,081 people last year and 1,175 youth and teens participated in preschool, afterschool care, sports, swim lessons, and summer camp. One out of every five people who live on the island belong to the MDI YMCA, the material says.
There are currently approximately 1,374 kids served by the Mount Desert Island Regional School System (including the island schools, Trenton, Frenchboro, Swan’s Island, and Cranberry Isles) from Pre-K to high school for the 2024-2025 school year. Back in 2013, that number was 1,517.
“I think it’s an exciting time for our community to have this facility be so full,” Town Councilor Val Peacock said on Tuesday. “I’m excited to see this happening.”
The Y’s campaign material also says that the YMCA helps prevent social isolation and increases the availability with high-quality child care. It says that people on Mount Desert Island have limited time and resources to maintain a healthy lifestyle, that the senior population is rapidly growing, that children are in danger of drowning, and that there is a rising cost of living.
“Where some see challenges, the Y recognizes opportunities to help,” it says.
One potential area for expansion is the youth development wing with an added multi-purpose room for programming for nontraditional sports programs, such as offered at the Jesup Memorial Library or in afterschool programs now at Conners-Emerson; an increased all-day child care capacity from 50 to 60 children; more youth recreation programs with more flexible hours throughout the day.
Another is adding more space in the second floor wellness center with new group exercise studio. The shower and changing areas would be changed for “additional family/ADA/inclusive showers and changing areas” along with the general renovation of the current areas.
Possibly one of the biggest potential changes is an indoor/outdoor multi-sport court building that’s currently proposed as coming off the front vestibule. Drawings show three garage-style doors placed in the facade that faces Park Street.
The Y’s materials state that this area would “provide year-round outdoor space for afterschool and summer camp programming, increase the number and size of outdoor sports, recreation, and group exercise classes, provide greater access to safe, outdoor spaces for people of all ages and abilities.”
There would also be a potential expansion and inclusion of a community kitchen which could host food and nutrition classes, which has also been mentioned as a future activity by and at the Bar Harbor Food Pantry, and a renovation of the Y’s current welcome area and creation of a new commons area.
“The Y has always been an important part of Bar Harbor. I think all of you know that. When the roof collapsed in the late 1990s or so, it was pretty traumatic for the town and the community, but the town stepped up,” Woodside said.
He hopes that the positive relationship and support continues.
THE BROWNFIELD
All of the expansion comes with the backdrop of the 21 Park Street site being a brownfield. The Department of Environmental Protection declared a portion of the site a brownfield in May 2025.
The YMCA can’t build until that contaminated soil is addressed.
Coal ash. Arsenic. Lead. Cancer-causing chemicals. It all lurks in the top three feet of soil at the MDI YMCA’s 21 Park Street campus, a lot that’s owned by the Town of Bar Harbor. That clean-up has not started, but the town was awarded over $500,000 to do the work.
“This is a big win for Bar Harbor, and it reflects the incredible teamwork behind the scenes,” said Town Manager James Smith at the time of the grant’s announcement. “We’re grateful to the EPA and proud of the strong partnership between the town, the YMCA, and our local and state collaborators. This funding helps us protect children, expand access to recreation, and invest in the community’s future.”
The dangerous chemicals were verified in 2023 after 31 borings into the soil and around the YMCA’s foundation showed arsenic, lead, and other chemicals.
Maine defines a brownfield as “real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.”
The state site goes on to say that, “Essentially, a brownfield site is a property where re-development is impeded because of contamination, real or perceived.”
To build on top of this soil, the YMCA would have to remove the soil down to the native soil level, approximately five feet, and then bring in new acceptable material as fill. That removal process, while daunting and expensive by itself, doesn’t consider any contaminants that may be found to exist at unacceptable levels which would make the procedure more costly.
GIVING WEEK
It’s also the MDI YMCA’s giving week.
Its website states, “Our annual giving week is here. Help us get to $135,000 in donations before November 21 to secure a giving match from generous lead donors.
“Please help us ensure everyone in our community can participate in YMCA programming and benefit from membership scholarships through a donation to our annual campaign.”
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
The YMCA’s website is here.
Ymca Packet
25.3MB ∙ PDF file
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