AUSTINTOWN - Youngstown YMCA officials have invited Austintown Township trustees to tour facilities in Cleveland and other locations in what could be a prelude to discussions to bring a YMCA location to Austintown or other Mahoning locations, sources said.
Trustees David Ditzler, Lisa Oles and Jim Davis said they have not yet been able to attend a tour, originally planned for June 11, because their regular trustees meeting was scheduled for the same day.
Ditzler said there have been on-and-off discussions with the YMCA for several years about a facility possibly moving into the township.
"We spoke with members of previous YMCA administrators about the possibility," Ditzler said.
But Davis did not describe the talks as "formal."
Tim Hilk, executive director of the Youngstown YMCA, said the Y always is looking in a variety of directions and locations, but denied that any plans are in the works to move or expand the Youngstown facility at this time.
''There is nothing in the works,'' Hilk said. ''We always are looking at all of our options. ... Any suggestion that we are looking at different locations would be speculative at best.''
Hilk said the tour of facilities in the Cleveland area was being done by the YMCA board to see what is happening at other facilities that could be used as a model for the Mahoning Valley.