Photo by Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

A new YMCA is under construction at LakeWatch Plantation at Smith Mountain Lake in Franklin County. The indoor tennis courts are to the right and will be open to members before the rest of the building is complete.

Moneta Y Benefit Concerts

A concert next month will be the first big public event to raise money for the new Bedford County Y

• Second Flyte, The Byrds tribute band
• 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3
• Staunton River High School
• 1 Golden Eagle Drive, Moneta
• Tickets: $20
• A raffle and silent auction are also planned.

The first phase of a new YMCA opens Monday to serve the Westlake area of Franklin County, just as a fundraising drive steps up to build another Y six miles away, across Smith Mountain Lake in Bedford County.

The indoor and outdoor tennis courts will open in the first phase of the $3.3 million Westlake facility.

The rest of the project -- including a 1,200-square-foot multipurpose room for aerobics classes, a fitness center, two racquetball courts and an outdoor playing field for soccer and flag football -- will open early in January.

"We might be a week late, but that's pretty good for construction," said Kim Merritt, director of the lake facility. "We've had a good firm working with us and we are excited about the opening."

The push to build a new YMCA in the Westlake area was sparked by population growth at Smith Mountain Lake.

The original 3,000-square-foot Westlake Y, which opened in 2000 in a storefront at Willard Office Plaza near Virginia 122 and Virginia 616, has swelled to 450 memberships including several family memberships.

Dave Cappellari, who helped lead the fundraising drive for the new Y, said the campaign exceeded $1 million, enabling officials to put a full-length basketball court in the second phase.

The new Y is a part of LakeWatch Plantation, a subdivision under construction on Virginia 122. LakeWatch developer Trey Park donated the land and site preparation to the project.

As the first part of the new Y opens, the Franklin County Family YMCA is still in need of a permanent director. In July, Russ Merritt resigned as executive director.

Plans for hiring a new director are still in the works, said Barry Watkins, a management consultant for the national office of YMCA.

"We are hoping to have an announcement on the director's position later this month," Watkins said.

Merritt had been in charge of the Y's two facilities in Rocky Mount as well as a supervisor over the facility at the lake. He has continued as a consultant to the Westlake Y project, and is married to Kim Merritt.

Watkins said the fast growth at Smith Mountain Lake might necessitate a different leadership model for the YMCA in Franklin County.

"We might have to have three separate branches," Watkins said. "The more branches you have the better. We see this as a positive change in how the YMCA governs."

Watkins said a volunteer committee has been formed to study the different leadership possibilities.

Although the director's position remains uncertain, construction lake facility has continued on schedule.

One lake, two YMCAs

Approximately six miles away, across Hales Ford Bridge in Bedford County, a second YMCA is planned to serve the growing Moneta community.

George Aznavorian, the real estate developer who launched Mayberry Hills and Downtown Moneta, donated two acres on Virginia 122 where the Y will be built.

The first phase will be an outdoor aquatic center with a swimming pool featuring six lanes for lap swimming, a square warm-water therapy pool indoors, an outdoor spray park and locker room/ changing areas.

"The first initiative is about $2 million, with the entire build-out option as much as $6 million," said Aznavorian, who also serves on the steering committee for the new Y.

Lake Group LLC, the homebuilders association serving Mayberry Hills, made the first financial donation, in the amount of $50,000, said Mary Jo Boone, executive director of the Bedford Area Family YMCA. To date, that is the only cash received for the project.

Both Aznavorian and Boone stressed the importance of securing long-term community support.

"This is not just about raising the initial funds," Aznavorian said. "This end of the county, the lake district, they have had some of the highest [real estate] assessments but services are somewhat lacking."

The spray park, a playground that incorporates jets and sprayers, will be available to the community on a per diem basis -- an asset to lake-area residents entertaining out-of-town guests.

A pool was determined to be the area's most-wanted amenity following town-hall meetings held last year to gauge the community's interest. If enough funds are raised, the pool, or part of it, could be enclosed to offer year-round swimming.

"The pool itself is not that expensive," Boone said. "It is putting the building around it that is expensive.

"We are dreaming. We are dreaming big."

Based on recommendations from a Richmond-based consulting firm, the Moneta community could support a YMCA costing $2 million to $3 million, Boone said.

"The people that want the pool need to understand it is an expensive undertaking and expensive to maintain," Boone said.

For the past nine years, the Bedford Area Family YMCA has operated a small fitness center in the lower level of Village Family Physicians. The Bedford Y's main facility is off U.S. 460 just west of Bedford.

"The Moneta Y is very small," said Aznavorian. "It has been stagnant in membership because it could not take on new members."

Boone said the branch is functioning at capacity, serving 75 members daily.

There will be room for expansion at the new site and the ultimate goal is to build a new fitness center to replace the satellite site on Rucker Road.

"Hopefully we will be so successful we can build it right on the heels of the pool," Boone said. "We will keep it going over there until we can move it to the new facility."

A limited-use reciprocal agreement is in the works for members of the Franklin County and Bedford Area YMCAs, she said.