On Tuesday October 20th, Riverbender.com published a letter to the editor by Mr. Bill Dettmers. In that letter Mr. Dettmers makes false claims and accusations about the City of Wood River and the Edwardsville YMCA. In 2018, City officials reached out to the YMCA to see about a possible partnership and whether they were willing to come to the table monetarily to construct a new recreation center. Officials had hoped that the YMCA might also be able to contribute monetarily to build a new recreation center in Wood River. Unfortunately, the YMCA was not able contribute for reasons described in the letter below from Edwardsville YMCA President and CEO Tom Verheyen.
After speaking with the YMCA, no one at the YMCA has ever heard of Bill Dettmers or even had any correspondence with him. Why would Bill Dettmers make all these false claims without first asking the YMCA to confirm if they are true?
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Bill Dettmers claims the City of Wood River did not pursue a Public/Private Partnership, rejected the opportunity to partner with the YMCA, and turned down a $15,000,000 YMCA that would cost the City of Wood River “zero dollars”. All these claims are utterly and totally false!
Unfortunately, the false statements by Mr. Dettmers and other individuals have not only confused the citizens of Wood River but also put the Edwardsville YMCA in a tough position. The City of Wood River apologizes to its friends at the YMCA and appreciate all the efforts in trying to support our endeavor to bring more recreation to our region. We thank them for providing the following letter in response to Mr. Dettmers claims.
Mayor Cheryl Maguire
City of Wood River
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