The Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA is no longer considering a possible merger with the YMCA of the Triangle.

Jennifer Trapani, chairwoman of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA board, says the talks toward a more formal relationship are off but the two agencies will continue to work together.

Some community members opposed a possible merger because the Triangle Y’s non-discrimination policy does not include sexual orientation and its membership language does not explicitly treat gay and lesbian families like other families.    
In December (see story here), Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton joined several other elected leaders in publicly opposing a merger. "In fact, accommodating homophobes might really be worse than being a homophobe, " Chilton wrote in a letter to the local Y. "As Dr. King so beautifully put it in the Letter from the Birmingham Jail: '[T]he Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the Ku Klux Klan, but the white moderate.'

Greg Lee, a spokesman for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA, says local concern over gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people was an issue but that the decision to stop pursuing a formal relationship was not one sided or because of one issue.

“It wasn’t just our decision,” he said.

We were not able to reach the YMCA of the Triangle late this afternoon for comment.

Look for more on this story in tomorrow's N&O and Sunday's Chapel Hill News.

Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton is the latest Orange County leader opposing a merger of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA with the YMCA of the Triangle over the latter’s policies on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

In a post on his Facebook page, Chilton concedes the local YMCA could benefit from the Triangle Y’s financial support but says that’s not worth aligning with an agency that does not treat gay members and employees the same as everyone else.

“You need to hear this: You are poised to make a really big mistake,” he writes.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA voted Dec. 14 to form a committee to discuss how and if the two organizations could share resources. One option is a management services agreement in which the YMCA of the Triangle would run the local one. Another is merging into one organization.

If the two merge, a decision board members say is still a long way off, the local YMCA would have to adopt the YMCA of the Triangle’s anti-discrimination policies which do not specifically protect members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

YMCA of the Triangle is looking for contributions for a nostalgia trip in conjuction with the Lakewood Y's reopening in January.

Old photos, old Y-related trophies and gym clothes and personal memories are being sought – physical items to be displayed at the Lakewood Y, the memories on the Durham Y's website, Facebook page and Twitter.

“It’s important to pay homage to the past, and our members are such a large part of
that. They kept the spirit of the Lakewood Y alive even after our doors closed,” Lakewood Director Brad Myers said in a prepared statement.

For information on making a contribution, write MyLakewoodY@YMCATriangle.org.

The 1966 facility was closed in August 2009 for major renovations after the YMCA sold it to Durham Public Schools. The Y is leasing back 18,000 square feet, while the Lakewood Montessori Middle School occupies the rest of the 7,350-square foot building.

In 2007, the Triangle YMCA planned to close the branch on Chapel Hill Road due to  its low membership and deteriorated condition. Plans changed, though, after Y members and nearby neighborhood associations organized to protest and seek alternatives to preserve the building.

After a year of citizen meetings and official negotiations, Durham County agreed to buy the building and its 7.4 acres for $250,000, then give it a makeover costing around $8 million.

Triangle swimmers don't just compete in the area. Some of them make a splash on the regional and national scenes.

Victoria Mitchell of the Marlins Of Raleigh-Wolfpack Aquatics is one of those swimmers with big achievements, and she added another this past weekend.

Marlins of Raleigh swimmers led the Triangle contingent, breaking
one state record and four meet records in finishing second at the N.C.
Aquatic Club's Josh Weaver Memorial Meet Near the Hill held Friday
through Sunday at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary.

The powerful NOVA swim club from Northern Virginia, ranked No. 4
nationally, ran away with the title, compiling 4,612 points against
teams from North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina and Pennsylvania,
Marlins coach Paul Silver reported. More than 700 swimmers competed in
the long-course meet for "A" classification competitors. 

Triangle teams took second through fourth places.

Triangle swimmers swept individual high-point honors and took four of the top eight places in the team competition at the N.C. Swimming Senior Short-Course Championships held Jan. 28-31 in Huntersville.

Victoria Mitchell, 17, of the Marlins of Raleigh-Wolfpack Aquatics won
the women's MVP award with 127 individual points, and Dominick Glavich,
16, of the YMCA of the Triangle Area Swim Team won the men's award with
137 points.

Mitchell, winner of the 500, 1,000, 1,650 freestyles, became the third
MOR swimmer to win the senior championships high-point award, coach
Paul Silver said.