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12 September 1 • 2016
“... it’s critical
we do this right
so the new
facility will be
viable far into
the future.”
A closed sign on
the JPM building
in Oak Park.
— Federation CEO
Scott Kaufman
David Sachs
JPM was closed to help the JCC
recover from longtime financial woes
— revealed in a 2014 audit after an
accounting crisis the year before —
that amounted to a $6 million deficit.
JPM itself had an annual deficit of
$885,000, which was a net savings to
the JCC’s bottom line. The JCC still is
operating at a loss, but the gap is clos-
ing. (See story, page 14.)
Still, the cost to maintain the current
JPM building has been about $10,000
a month, Kaufman said. This includes
utilities, keeping water in the pool and
circulating, grounds maintenance and
partial cost of security for the campus,
which also is home to Jewish Senior
Life apartment buildings and the
Mondry Building.
Tearing down the old building
would eliminate the majority of the
monthly cost and would buy more
time for pieces of the puzzle for a
financially sustainable new building to
fall into place.
Jim Gustafson, Federation director of
real estate services, said the teardown
would take 45-60 days. Options include
a total teardown of the building or a
partial teardown that would leave a
shell standing to protect some systems,
like the boiler, that have been deemed
reusable. The teardown will be done
this fall before winter arrives.
Gustafson said either plan includes
demolition of the swimming pool,
which was being drained last week. An
analysis showed some elements of the
pool were old and outdated and that
a new state-of-the-art pool would be
more cost-efficient.
The pool was one of the most impor-
tant elements of the Oak Park JCC,
especially to the surrounding Orthodox
community because it was available to
men and women at separate times.
“[We’ve spent] many months talking
to community leaders and those who
run pools — this has been an ongoing
process,” Wolfe said.
He indicated that for-profit pool
operators they spoke with were able to
handle the rent to support a new, more-
efficient pool and make it financially
feasible, but they did not want to be
closed on Shabbat and Jewish holidays.
“The pool is very important to seg-
ments of the community, and we’re still
working hard on it,” Kaufman said. “We
are not promising a pool, but it’s still in
process, and we can design the building
in a way that it can be added later.
“A pool is a very expensive thing to
operate, and we don’t want to spend
a donor’s money and then three years
later have to close it [because it’s not
sustainable],” Kaufman said. “That’s the
worst thing for donor relations and for
the neighborhood.
“People in the community, with help
from Federation, are working hard to
find a sustainable model for the pool.
At this time, we haven’t crossed the fin-
ish line.”
LACK OF COMMUNICATION
Federation has given no official updates
on JPM in a year, despite repeated
requests for information from the JN,
leaders of the Save the Oak Park JCC
committee, donors and concerned
community members. The lack of com-
munication has frustrated community
members.
“One year has passed since
Federation President Larry Wolfe and
CEO Scott Kaufman announced, at a
meeting of Save the Oak Park JCC, that
the JPM building would be reconstruct-
ed into a ‘communal center’ that would
contain a fitness center, a swimming
pool and operations of several Jewish
community organizations,” said Ron
Aronson of Huntington Woods, a leader
of the Save the Oak Park JCC group, on
Aug. 19, after meeting with Federation
staffers about JPM.
“There were no announcements or
visible activity at the building, not even
a sign saying ‘watch this space,’” he
said. “The community was completely
in the dark about what was happen-
ing, if anything. We understand that
rebuilding or renovation is a compli-
cated and sometimes lengthy process,
but there is simply no excuse for
Federation failing to keep the commu-
nity informed.”
Aaron Tobin, another Save the Oak
Park JCC leader, said, “They’ve done
nothing. It’s heartbreaking to see [JPM]
empty. I walk through the parking lot
every week to my shul. It’s painful to
see no construction.
“I have asked the Federation many
times to be forthcoming and was prom-
ised an update, but no update came.
A lot of people in the community are
coming back to me now and saying, ‘I
told you so.’
“Closure of the JPM has had a hor-
rible impact,” Tobin said. “The Jewish
heart is aching in this part of the com-
munity. The JCC was unique. This is far
more than the loss of a gym, a swim-
ming pool and a restaurant. People
from different backgrounds shared a
common place here, coming together as
a community. There’s been the loss of a
sense of community that you can’t put a
value on.”
Patti Morris Phillips of West
Bloomfield, sister of Jimmy Prentis
Morris, who was killed in a 1965 car
accident at age 13 with his cousin Wally
Straus, age 14, has
a personal stake in
the building, which,
along with the gym,
are named for her
brother. The social
hall is named for her
grandparents, Anna
and Meyer Prentis;
Patti Phillips
and the recreational
wing is named for her
cousin, Wally.
“I am surprised we haven’t heard for
a year,” said Phillips, a Federation board
member present at last week’s meeting.
As a donor through her family’s foun-
dation, she has been asking for updates.
“They keep saying they are working
on it; that there’s a lot involved; and
that it’s not as easy as they thought.
I am very hopeful. I’m glad it’s going
forward, and I’m glad the donor stayed
with it. I’m also glad they are keeping
the name.”
Marcia Leibson of Southfield, a mem-
ber of the Save the Oak Park JCC com-
mittee, said, “People want — and have
a right — to know what is happening
and when.”
DIFFICULT TIMETABLE
When Federation leaders met with the
JN, they expressed their own frustra-
tion.
“There’s a perception that nothing
is happening — which we understand
— but that’s not accurate,” said Todd
Krieger, Federation’s associate planning
director.
“There was nothing concrete to
report,” Kaufman said. “This is a dif-
ficult challenge and many people are
working very hard to find the best,
most sustainable solution that will
benefit the local community for many
years to come. It’s complex and we want
to make sure we get it right.”
Speaking of JPM becoming an out-
post for Jewish social service agencies,
Kaufman said, “We thought, and hoped,
it would go much faster, but we need
to make sure the agencies interested in
taking space are able to succeed in that
space.
“I know the JCC would like some
space, but they are still digging out
of their financial situation. Can they
afford it?”
Kaufman emphasized that Federation
wants to make the numbers work to
cover the cost of the space, mainte-
nance and upkeep. Sustainability is key;
no one is making a profit, he said.
“In the absence of a concrete thing,
conspiracy theories fill vacuums — it’s
true in everything if you don’t commu-
nicate enough. We know that. I think
we go back to our track record. Our job
is to take care of the community and
its future and our mission — and that’s
what we do.
“We are putting real time and sweat
equity into this one, along with hun-
dreds of other challenges we have,”
Kaufman said. “We’ll need to be patient
with people thinking what they are
going to think until something happens.
“We are just as eager as they are
to see progress at JPM. We’re work-
ing toward a long-term solution, and
it’s critical we do this right so the
new facility will be viable far into the
future.”
However, Kaufman said in his meet-
ing with the JN, if arrangements with
the social service agencies and other
possible tenants don’t happen within
the next six months, Federation plan-
ners and leaders would likely “have to
go back to the drawing board.”
*
Contributing Writer Esther Allweiss Ingber contrib-
uted to this story. See related editorial, page 8.