CLEVELAND — The White County Board of Commissioners has voted to terminate the county's ties with the Georgia Mountains YMCA.
YMCA has been working with White County on park and recreation activities, beginning with a consulting agreement in 2009. The YMCA has been operating all aspects of the department.
The division, approved by a 3-2 commission vote, takes effect July 1.
Commissioner Lyn Holcomb made the motion, which was seconded by Edwin Nix. Commissioner Craig Bryant voting in favor of the motion. Commission Chairman Travis Turner and Commissioner Terry Goodger voted no to terminating the relationship.
The decision by the commissioners was made quickly, but board members had expressed earlier to YMCA officials their feelings that changes need to be made.
Holcomb said after they received a recent evaluation of the parks' operation, it would better serve the county to make a change. He added he appreciates the years of service provided by the YMCA.
Turner said even though he voted against the measure there are matters on the youth side where improvements are needed.
"The Y has done a great job with the adult services, including daily services," Turner said. "We were direct, some things had been lacking, but in the end some of the commissioners felt enough is enough."
Turner said his concern is the short timeframe for the transition.
"A lot of stuff is going to have to be done in a relatively short period of time to put all this together," Turner said. "It's going to be challenging.”
Beginning July 1, the operation of the White County Parks and Recreation Department will be under the direct supervision of County Manager Mike Melton, along with Interim Park and Recreation Director Joe Gailey.
Gailey is a former White County Parks and Recreation director, with 26 years of experience in this field, including recent service in Banks County.
Each of the current employees, who are employed by Georgia Mountain YMCA, will be given an opportunity to apply to work for the county.
