PORT HAWKESBURY - Town officials here didn't waste any time making plans for their long-running fitness centre, following the January 30 announcement that the Cape Breton YMCA would vacate the facility at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre.

The departure ended a 15-year agreement that dated back to the Civic Centre's official opening in late 2004. In a press release, Cape Breton YMCA chief executive officer Andre Gallant described the move as "one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make," but suggested it was cost-prohibitive to keep the YMCA and its various programs in Port Hawkesbury.

Four nights later, at the latest regular monthly meeting of Port Hawkesbury Town Council, the town's chief administrative officer, Terry Doyle, announced that he and his fellow staffers were speaking to private business interests about the potential for a post-YMCA fitness centre operator. Noting that the town still owned the grand majority of the facility's fitness equipment, Doyle also confirmed that town staff will send surveys to Port Hawkesbury residents to complete, in order to determine the best future direction regarding the issue. 

Although the town and the Cape Breton YMCA had experienced past disputes over rental agreements during the organization's 15-year stay at the Civic Centre, Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton wished the Cape Breton YMCA well but pledged to do everything in her power to maintain a full-service fitness centre in Port Hawkesbury.