MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Moultrie YMCA made history in April when it opened a downtown location for the first time since 1970.

Now in phase two of their 18-month plan, CEO and Director Rich Gallagher announced that the Downtown Y will be operating 24 hours a day/7 days a week starting in January 2019.  

The Downtown Y has been received well and welcomed by the community with more than 1,500 visitors per month, Gallagher told Moultrie City Council on Tuesday.

“The risk of opening the Downtown Y was very minimum,” Gallagher said in an interview Thursday. “We did strong performance testing, looked at the spot and knew we were going to be just fine. Thanks to the kind donations from the community we were able to do this with low risk, and the reward has been great. We are fulfilling the need for those that can’t make it to the main YMCA because of transportation issues.

“We are so excited to be a part of the square and this great community and we are very excited about the future of the Downtown Y,” he said.

The downtown opening 24/7 means the need for safety procedures. The YMCA will use keycard access for members and will implement an emergency wristband system for members to wear while they are using the facility. If something does happen, the member could press a button on the wristband to summon help.

Round-the-clock availability was the goal ever since the Downtown Y opened its doors, Gallagher said, and now that plan is becoming a reality.

“When we began this 18-month plan we knew that one huge step in getting relevant is that we needed a 24/7 facility and we needed a place where millennials and senior citizens could go in and out,” said Gallagher. “Everyone from city employees to the United Way helped us make this possible.”