Local YMCA files for bankruptcy
MARQUETTE — The YMCA of Marquette County has filed for bankruptcy, in another effort towards reducing the organization’s total debt.
The organization officially filed for Chapter 11 reorganization today. In the past 14 months, the YMCA has undergone various changes in order to crawl out of debt. This step was taken after discussion over the extreme debt that was incurred by previous leadership, aggressive expansion of the facility, and pending law suits that were inherited.
This decision was made in order for the YMCA to have a fresh slate.
“When we came into this, there was a lot of debt with local people. We’ve cleared up almost $500,000 of accounts payable and now because of the ability for us to file Chapter 11 and reorganize our debt, we’re able to move forward and start fresh,” said YMCA Vice Chief Volunteer Officer, Amanda Filizetti.
Action has already been taken to address the organization’s challenges, such as selling the Wright Street Child Care Center Property and transitioning to a new CEO. Since these steps have been taken, the overall debt has been lowered to around 4.8 million. The YMCA will remain open during this process and daily operations will not be interrupted by current actions.
The Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan will be deciding the next steps in this process.