MIDLAND, Texas — Last week, the Midland YMCA announced it's planned expansion into northwest Midland. However, there have been some infrastructure concerns raised by those who live in the area, and it appears there are two differing sides for the expansion project.
The YMCA says it expects to break ground early next year, while the city says nothing about this expansion is official yet.
Traffic is one concern that residents near the intersection of Avalon and Mockingbird have when it comes to the YMCA's planned expansion to the southwest corner of the intersection.
“The neighbors, they have some valid concerns and so we need to have that addressed," said Amy Stretcher-Burkes, District 4 representative on the Midland City Council.
District 4 is an area of growth, and right now some confusion as well.
As the YMCA has gained 24 acres of land to offer limited services out of renovating existing structures, discussions have taken place.
“I've actually had discussions with the Y[MCA], with the neighbors and then a joint meeting together, and they said that they were going to take the concerns and go back to their board," Stretcher-Burkes said.
The YMCA provided some statements regarding those concerns.
On traffic, part of their statement read:
“According to city officials, this initial project is a 10,000 square foot facility with limited scheduled services that can be supported by the current road infrastructure.”
They also addressed the zoning of the property, with part of their statement saying:
"During the purchasing process of this property the YMCA thoroughly researched and met with the City of Midland to confirm that the land was properly zoned to accommodate a YMCA branch. Those preliminary discussions confirmed that a rezone was not necessary.”
However, there appears to be some doubt by the city over how this process has gone.
“There’s a process," Stretcher-Burkes said. "Zoning has a process and we need to make sure we follow that process. So right now the Y[MCA] hasn’t even put in an application yet, so right now we don’t really know what we’re looking at, so that’s kind of the main thing.”
Traffic is a lone concern as this situation looks to straighten itself out.
“There [are] valid concerns that we need to look into," Stretcher-Burkes said. "They haven’t applied yet, they need to come to us for a plat, so I mean there [are] some step, so we’re just kind of waiting for them to submit the application, and then we can address the issues and look at it.”
Stretcher-Burkes noted that water pressure in the area was another concern that residents had, while the YMCA said it will begin master planning for the entire 24 acres by the end of the year.
NewsWest 9 will provide any updates about this expansion situation as they become available.