The following is a response to an opinion in the Jamestown Post-Journal on Dec. 4, 2025.

I was a JCC Total Fitness member from 2000 to 2020, until it was closed down by the state in early March 2020 due to COVID. JCC Life Fitness had to close, half way through my 2019-2020 membership. In 2024 I found out via word of mouth that JCC Total Fitness had reopened. I closed my Planet Fitness membership which I had from fall 2022 to March 2024 and I rejoined JCC Total Fitness. I have gone to Life Fitness the last 1.5 years, five days a week for 1.5 hours each day. I don’t go to the YMCA due to being very crowded, not well maintained with no available parking close by. I was not during this time a Post-Journal subscriber until this year.

On August 19, 2022, an article in The Post Journal said: “During that time, new membership requests were put on hold, members were refunded their money and the college lost many members of its fitness center” stated Stephen Riczker new executive director of JCC’s Faculty Student Association.”

Clearly his statement was not true as no one from JCC FSA called me. I was never received reimbursed for the half-year loss in 2020 after being a member for 20 years. I contacted Mr. Riczker on Dec. 10, 2025, and received a response that they would not refund the money, making questionable excuses why they wouldn’t. My paystub on August 25, 2019, clearly showed the disbursement from my paycheck to FSA for the gym membership. Did they really reimburse everyone or just the administration?

Dec. 4, I read an opinion piece in The Post-Journal (12/4/25) stating JCC was closing the JCC Total Fitness to the public. So I checked The Post-Journal and found on Nov. 24, 2025, “”… three-year review period … the FSA … attempted to rebuild public membership following the pandemic related shutdown, DeMarte said,” Also, “college’s recent decision to close its Total Fitness operation beginning in February, which DeMarte clarified is a financial decision, and as a part of the conversation with the project with the YMCA, ….”

“College … spent three years… rebuild membership …participation remains too low to pay the costs to keep.. Total Fitness open to the public. … Total Fitness … increased membership by 50 customers to 180 since COVID,”. (JPJ,12/2/25).

This statement is misleading and not truthful. The entire Jamestown Campus is fully paid for by student tuitions, chargebacks from the county (county taxpayers’ taxes) and funding/grants from federal, state and county coffers. These revenues of financial support pay for the building, utilities, complete physical operations of the complex, staffing and maintenance. Additional staffing is provided by students’ work-study programs funded by federal grants. The community membership fees are an additional avenue of support but not as President DeMarte claims funds the facility. The Life fitness facility hosts classes weekdays during the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. which requires staff/students to be there.

I only found out a year and a half ago that Life Fitness was reopened and saw no marketing attempts. JCC has a marketing office and they could not get more than 16 people joining yearly in the three-year review, seriously? Doesn’t seem much effort was put into rebuilding the membership, if even that was their intention to do so. JCC would collect $50,000 to $60,000 from the 180 members Life Fitness membership fees.

Millions of dollars yearly the community contributes via taxes to maintain and upgrade the JCC campus not including state and federal revenue. The college already uses part-time students and work study students to man many offices at JCC. Are they going to block community members from the library? Charge a fee to use the library as they want to charge high school College Connect classes or put parking meters in the parking lot? Or just ban the community from the campuses altogether?

Clearly the JCC Board of Trustees and JCC Administration has lost sight as to who actually owns and pays for JCC – the community tax payer – for 70 years. President Greg DeCinque promoted JCC and community partnerships, cultivating positive interactions with the community, honoring and encouraging community support. Never has JCC committed to belittle and dismiss the importance of the financial commitment from the community and community access.

My family has decided to no longer support any interactions with JCC, no sporting events or plays and concerts. I will now go to Planet Fitness and not use the JAY Wellness Center. My son will not be returning in the Fall 2025 semester and we are encouraging others to do the same. When the college that we pay for feels it has superior rights over us and denies our use of the facilities we paid for, let them get their financing from other sources and not the Chautauqua County taxpayer. Fredonia State is just 30 minutes away and buses travel there daily.

David Gibson is a Jamestown resident.