Our target:  Safe Children Coalition must follow-through with their offer to sell for the stated price.

Your support: Our gyms (Euclid/Berlin and Potter Park/ESJ) are in a crisis moment!  In response to our earlier protests, we won just these few months to buy the gyms.  We have until March 31st to raise $4.4 million dollars.

To raise the funds, we are forming a coop non-profit.  Each user or staff member can buy a single, equal share, that can be sold-back.  Shareholders have a say in running the Centers.

PETITION TO SARASOTA Safe Children Coalition, Inc.

PLEDGE OF INTENT to form Non-profit Coop fitness centers

* We the undersigned pledge that we intend to transform the current Corporation (Save Our Y, Inc) into a " not for profit cooperative" (non-profit coop) corporation under the regulations set forth by the Florida Department of Business Corporations (Chapters 617, 719, etc.) with the express purpose of both purchasing and operating the  (Euclid/Berlin and Potter Park/ESJ) gyms, from the Sarasota Safe Children Coalition, Inc., formerly known as the Sarasota Family YMCA, Inc. 

 

* We petition the current owners, Safe Children Coalition, and the transitional corporation (Save Our Y, Inc that is operating the centers to negotiate with us and to accept our offer. 

 

For almost a half-century, our Berlin-ESG centers have steadfastly been a pillar of our community, vital to our health and wellbeing.  Each location has a indoor competition-length lap-pool and warm shallow pool, racquetball squash and basketball courts, full weight-training and fitness equipment area (gym), children's' gymnastics, and a key social refuge (community center). 

Losing these fitness Centers on March 31st will deprive kids, seniors, and everyone in between, from every walk-of-life of an absolutely essential community resource.  This is a "public health" issue!  Hundreds of employees will lose their jobs.  Local shops will lose the business from the gym-goers.  Participants with disabilities and unable to drive have moved across the country to the neighborhood on the express condition that there is an accessible Gym & Pool within walking distance; these people will be devastated.

Others with disabilities and those with economic challenges depend on the Y’s accessible shower facilities. The sauna, hot tub, and steam room are invaluable for those who seek to rehabilitate from an injury. Children and adults from all walks of life benefit from group lessons ranging from swimming to ballroom dancing to chair aerobics, tai chi, and yoga.  Numerous champion athletes train at the Center, as do folks just staying fit. The summer camp program for children is essential for working families, and the year-round child-watch program gives young parents a critical breather. Neighborhood schools bring children for the "learn to swim" programs, critically important for the safety of our seaside community.

We must keep our fitness centers, and the communities they create. Property developers and prospective newcomers to our City all take a key look at recreational facilities when considering whether to join a community and contribute to its tax base.   

 

Government-funded Child foster-care programs should not benefit from the proceeds of Fitness centers and Fitness centers should not subsidize foster-care programs!

 

The prior model was that we give donations, as if the fitness centers are begging for handouts.  Contrastingly, as a coop, we pay our own way, and the share you buy is refundable. 

 

What we are:  As a non-profit, we will continue to serve our community, especially those of low-income, seniors, children-at-risk, and those with disabilities.  Yet we will strive to be a superb fitness center for all.  To best serve our community, we will have the finest in exercise equipment, aquatics, youth gymnastics and teen centers, fitness programs and classes.  So we will be your home for wellbeing and camaraderie.  Coop membership is open to all devoted fitness-center users and staff.  Our group will make decisions democratically and discussions will be conducted in the open; our funding of Save Our Y will be stipulated on the condition that we merge; us shareholders would elect the Board and vote on bylaw revision.

 

Following is one way that the funding structure may be set-up.

Each coop shareholder buys one share at a single price, the funds serving to buy and then run the centers.  About 1,000 to 4,000 coop shareholders are needed at a share price  somewhere between $1,000 and $5,000 each.  The total cost depends on the number of members, the financing, and the cost to purchase, improve and maintain the centers.  As cash flows in or new members join, the membership may vote to reduce the buy-in cost and partly refund current members accordingly, or alternatively, to increase share price (when we agree to fund repairs or improvements).  At some point when financial health is achieved, we can periodically let a fraction of the members sell-back their share for it's current value (equal to their total buy-in less any refund previously issued).  Being a non-profit, the share value will always be about equal to the total group buy-in divided by the number of current members.  Excess is either rolled back into the organization or given to charity.

 

There was a pending offer to buy part of the Berlin (Euclid Ave) property (behind the current fitness center buildings) to form a charter school.  Well, that deal was not accepted by the current owner!  However when we become the owners, we will be open to, and interested in, a similar offer.  Proceeds would be quickly returned as a partial or even full-refund distributed to our shareholders.

 

User-fees will continue at a similar rate to those currently paid, regardless of whether you opt to buy a member share.

 

Employees:  we respect and value our staff, so we will try our best to raise their pay toward at least a living-wage, to give a full benefits package and enjoyable working conditions.  Our share purchase will fund the capital improvements that in return will gain us more users, more private lessons, etc, to pay for the improved staff compensation.

 

The owner plans to permanently close the fitness centers come March 31, 2020, just a few short weeks away,  We must put-together and make our offer well before then!

 

Steps to follow:  Hold planning meetings, form a leadership team, get enough member pledges through this petition-pledge drive, engage legal and financial specialists to fine tune our plan, agree through democratic consensus among ourselves as the plan takes-shape, formalize our connection with Save Our Y, Inc. or similar 501-C3., and set up a means of taking payments and issuing the shares, make our offer to the owners.  NOTE:  Only after the offer is accepted, do we take our final vote and put-in any money, either all of us or none of us.

 

We sign this petition-pledge for three purposes: 

(1) We show our unified support and Petition the current owners to accept our offer. 

(2) We pledge to help form this cooperative. 

(3) You further pledge to ask everyone you can to sign this with us.

 

In solidarity,

Larry Silvermintz SaveSarasotaGym@gMail.com  (note, I am independent of, and do not represent SOY, despite the fact that they chose a name similar to my email

 

** Attention Signers:  Below your signature "Change.Org" asks you to "chip in" a donation, all of which goes to the web site corporation, but not to our fitness center project.