By By SPIROS GALLOS / Niles Daily Star
The new Niles-Buchanan YMCA planned for Front and Pokagon streets got some help from the Niles City Council, but not as much as officials were hoping for.
Due to cost overruns in the project, Jim Craig, treasurer of the YMCA board of directors, asked the city council to waive all or part of the mechanical, building, and plan review permit fees required for the construction of the new building. The fees total $49,000.
The council voted to waive 50 percent of the fees.
Craig attributed the cost overruns to the 50 percent rise in steel prices since the original proposal was made, and the fact that planners underestimated the cost of fees necessary to build the new facility.
The project, which was originally slated to cost $7 million, will now cost $9 million after the overruns, Craig said.
Craig told reporters after the meeting that the new facility would still be built, but not exactly as originally planned.
Craig said the board of directors have talked about what parts of the project may be cut or scaled back but no decisions have been made.
Before the city council meeting, Mayor Michael McCauslin honored Capt. Jim Merriman for 25 years of service to the Niles City Police Department.