Rumors that the Rich Port YMCA might soon relocate some of its programs to a former school in La Grange Park recently vacated by that community's park district are not true, according to Mark Van Clay, superintendent of Elementary School District 102, which owns the facility at 920 Barnsdale Ave.
Van Clay today said that there had been preliminary discussions between the school district and Rich Port but that an agreement to lease the facility is not likely at this time because Rich Port's needs are immediate and the facility has abatement issues that will not be resolved until next year.
He added that the school district also is considering possible use of the facility for its own programs, a decision that likely will not occur before January or February.
"They [Rich Port] need something now," said Van Clay. "We're not now."
A spokeswoman for Rich Port, in response to an inquiry from the daily yesterday afternoon, said, "It's too early to talk or say anything."