CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A day following the closure of the YMCA of the Coastal Bend, the organization's interim CEO Gwen Ruppert has stepped down, submitting her resignation during an emergency meeting by board members Wednesday afternoon.
Folks walking up to the YMCA found the doors locked and a sign hoping to welcome members back soon, but there's still no time frame for exactly how long that could take.
Longtime member Matt Peterson arrived to the YMCA Wednesday with his gym bag in hand. Like many others, he was caught off guard by the facility's sudden closure.
He's hoping it won't last long.
"You would hope that," Peterson said. "Of course, they aren't really pinpointing it on the door here, but it just depends what you are talking about. Safety concerns, of course, that's a broad brush."
The YMCA, a Corpus Christi institution for decades offers a gym, basketball courts, swim lessons, and afterschool youth and teen activities.
This is not the first time the building has endured hardships. A fire forced a temporary shutdown back in 2020.
The nonprofit cites safety and security reasons for the current closure following a recent assessment of the facility by the national YMCA.
"It's an 85-year-old building, we did a walkthrough there are just some things we need to improve on and upgrade and it was just in the best interest of our members," said board member Taylor Alanis.
She stressed the closure is only temporary.
During Wednesday's meeting, the board named Estevan Guerra as the new interim CEO.
This, as they also work to accommodate both community members and employees during the necessary repairs.
"We have about 80 employees right now and they are still going to be paid during this time of our closure," Alanis said. "In fact, we have some inside right now making phone calls to all of our members."
Currently, the YMCA of the Coastal Bend has over 3,100 members.
We are told membership costs will be prorated, and the YWCA on Corona Drive is offering to open their doors to their members during this time of closure.
3NEWS asked if there was any risk of a permanent closure and was told they are working to avoid that at all costs, remaining hopeful to find a solution soon.
"You know when something like this happens -- when you know you need to make upgrades and improvements -- we're trying to one, identify them before we make those improvements and then we'll deal with things from there," Alanis said. "Right now our most important priority is getting this place open for our members as soon as possible."
The organization encourages anyone with questions to call their front office at (361) 882-1741.