Image: YMCA B.C. and City of Chilliwack / Staff at the Cheam Leisure Centre in Garrison are pictured. The City of Chilliwack says services like swim hours and swim lessons, in addition to lifeguards, have increased significantly since September 2022 when the YMCA B.C. took over as the operator of the Cheam Leisure Centre and Chilliwack Leisure Landing Centre. The switch to the YMCA is saving the City of Chilliwack significant money as well. 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

City of Chilliwack

Transition from Recreation Excellence to YMCA B.C. proves successful thus far for City of Chilliwack

May 7, 2024 | 9:28 AM

CHILLIWACK — When the YMCA B.C. took over as the municipal operator of the Cheam Leisure Centre and the Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre in September 2022, available services at the two rec centres hovered at a low point.

According to stats released by the City of Chilliwack, pool hours at Chilliwack Landing numbered only 37.5 hours in September 2022, while the Cheam Centre featured only 24 pool hours that same month. At both locations, there were no swim lesson spaces in September 2022, and total staff between the two locations equaled only 29 positions.

Fast forward to March 2024, where the Chilliwack Landing rec centre now has 102.5 pool hours, just slightly above the 102 pool hours at the Cheam rec centre, according to city data.

Image: File photo / Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre.

There are now 49 total staff at the Chilliwack Landing Rec centre, including 30 lifeguards, whereas Cheam features 62 total staff, including 35 lifeguards.

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Swim lessons are 81 per cent full at Chilliwack Landing and even higher at Cheam (86 per cent full).

There are 826 swim lesson spaces at the Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre, and 488 swim lesson spaces at the Cheam Leisure Centre, the city reports.

Image: File photo / Cheam Leisure Centre (pictured).

Not only are services more robust, the City of Chilliwack is saving city resources by going with the YMCA B.C. rather than Recreation Excellence.

According to a 2022 staff report from Ryan Mulligan, director of recreation and culture for the City of Chilliwack, a request for proposals to manage and operate the three facilities went out in 2022. The request for proposals closed June 15, 2022, at which time city staff reviewed two proposals received from Recreation Excellence, the current operator, and YMCA of Greater Vancouver.

The five-year bid from YMCA came in at $10,027,777 versus a much higher five-year bid of $13,163,288.04 from Recreation Excellence. A six-member evaluation team examined key components in the request for proposal paperwork and considered such technical criteria as proposed programming, facility maintenance strategies, community engagement, key facility management personnel, corporate and management experience and references, financial expertise, and employee recruitment, training, retention and wage strategies.

YMCA registered a proposal score of 85.7 points, while Recreation Excellence recorded a much lower score of 55.7 points.

The city staff report revealed that the City of Chilliwack hired an independent consultant to explore the cost of running all three venues, which included the two rec centres and the Rotary Outdoor Pool, if the City itself managed and operated the facilities. The consultant came back with an estimated cost of $13.5 million to operate all three over a five-year span.