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The financially troubled YMCA of McKeesport will close the fitness facilities at its Sinclair Street location on June 1, the Tube City Almanac has learned.

The city Y's indoor, Olympic-size swimming pool is being closed even sooner.

Local residents inquiring about memberships are being redirected to the YMCA in Wilmerding, and Camp T. Frank Soles near Rockwood, Somerset County, will probably be sold to pay off past debts estimated between $500,000 and $1 million.

Youth programs --- which are funded by the United Way, private foundations and public subsidies --- will continue to operate for as long as possible, but will be moved to other locations.

Staffers who are no longer needed will be offered jobs at other YMCAs where possible, officials say.

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Lisa Christian, chief operating officer of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, tells the Almanac that the McKeesport Y "needs to cut costs drastically and stop the bleeding." The Pittsburgh Y has been offering management support for the city's Y since last year.

Christian says the city Y's fitness and wellness programs are breaking even, while operating the pool drains the organization of "hundreds of thousands of dollars" per year.

"There's not enough revenue to cover the expenses --- they're barely able to make payroll," she says. "The Y will stay in the community, but at this point, we don't know what that looks like."

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The McKeesport YMCA was founded in 1888 and moved to its current location in 1922.

A serious problem with the landmark building on Sinclair Street is that it provides 87 rooms upstairs for transients, low-income tenants and people who need transitional housing. The rooms are subsidized by the county.

Sleeping quarters were once common in American YMCAs, but the McKeesport facility is one of relatively few remaining to offer them.

The building's layout doesn't make it easy to separate the tenants from the approximately 1,000 people who use the fitness facilities, gymnasium and swimming pool.

Residents will be moved into alternative housing over the next year, Christian says.

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Although the Y has been in financial trouble for several years, Christian says the magnitude of the debts became apparent only over the past few months.

Though the McKeesport YMCA is partly a victim of the region's declining population and continuing poor economic conditions, other wounds may have been self-inflicted.

Sources familiar with the organization, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the Y suffered in the past because of weak fundraising efforts and cash-control procedures.

Christian confirms that an audit found that the McKeesport Y had "poor systems in place and long-term management issues," but she did not blame current Executive Director Dexter Hairston, who took over in 2007.

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"Dexter has been a trouper," she says, adding that he has been meeting with donors steadily for two years. "It's a lot to clean up in a short period of time. We did not know and they did not know how big their liabilities were."

In addition, the 87-year-old building has suffered from decades of deferred maintenance. In March it was evacuated because of carbon monoxide leaks. A recent report concluded the Sinclair Street building requires $4 million in repairs to bring it up to code, Christian says.

"The occupancy costs of that building are very high," she says. "The windows aren't efficient, the lights aren't efficient, and there's no money to replace anything."

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There have been preliminary discussions about moving the fitness center to another location in the city.

UPMC McKeesport spokeswoman Claire Daday says the hospital has had preliminary talks with the YMCA about moving some activities to the former Frank R. Bondi Medical Center on Evans Avenue, which is owned by the hospital.

Daday said the plan is "still in the discussion phases," but the hospital would welcome providing a temporary home to the YMCA.

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McKeesport Mayor Jim Brewster says the YMCA is a "tremendous asset" to the city and that officials are doing whatever they can to help the organization get through the current crisis.

"Certainly it's something we absolutely want to keep in town, and we want to help them find an option that makes sense financially," Brewster says. "It's probably safe to say that there's going to be a short-term strategy and a long-term strategy."

The city has identified several potential locations where the YMCA could re-locate within McKeesport, he says, though he does not want to speculate publicly on those sites.

It will be important, Brewster says, for the YMCA to continue to offer one of its biggest drawing cards --- the swimming pool. There are no other public swimming pools within the city, though White Oak's borough pool, which is outdoors, can be used by non-residents for a fee.

"Frankly sometimes out of adversity comes good things," Brewster says. "A new Olympic-size pool in a state-of-the-art location could be a good thing."

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But a new full-service YMCA is unlikely to reopen any time soon, Christian says, and certainly not at Sinclair Street. "It's not in the offing unless they find a donor," she says. "I don't see a full-fledged YMCA coming back to McKeesport any time soon."

Although the Greater Pittsburgh Y has considered absorbing the McKeesport Y, it "is not in the position" to assume a half-million dollars in past debts, Christian says.

"We will maintain a Y presence," she says. "We're trying every opportunity we can to work with funders, with county officials, with the mayor --- Dexter's opening every door he can."

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Unfortunately, Christian says, no "$4 million angel" has come forward, and none appear to be on the horizon.

"It's very heartrending," she says. "The last thing anyone wants to do is close down a Y."