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Two men representing opposite sides in a bitter controversy surrounding the 23-year-old fitness center at Sewickley Valley YMCA have one thing in common: a love for the organization.

John Bensink first joined the Y when he was 8.

"I have polio, and the therapy of swimming helped my recovery," Bensink said. "The YMCA is a center for the whole community, a place where people develop lasting relationships."

Dave Stevenson also loves the Y and talks about it with the same passion.

"I learned how to swim, play baseball and basketball at the YMCA," said Stevenson, the executive director of the Sewickley Valley YMCA the past six years.

Bensink, of Sewickley, represents more than 200 people fighting closure of the Sewickley Y's fitness center. He claims Stevenson and Y board members broke the organization's by-laws in their decision last December to shutter the center, which is one part of the entire operation.

The two have squared off in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court and in a divisive board election Thursday, the first such bitterly contested election in the Sewickley Y's century-long history.

Closure opponents also charged that the Y administration and current board have sought to rig the election to keep control of the board. Results of the election are expected early this week.

Bensink and the group he is aligned with support keeping the fitness center because they say the facilities are suited to the members who have belonged to it for many years.

Stevenson is perplexed by the turmoil.

"It has been a difficult time for the association," he said. "YMCAs often change to meet the needs of the community, and sometimes change is difficult for a community."

Stevenson and other Y officials say the closure is necessary because of a court-ordered change in the fitness center's tax-exempt status; a growing demand for child care services; and a desire to eliminate tiered membership.

"We could run the risk of losing our tax exemption," board President Michael Orsini said.

About 240 fitness center members pay $61 a month to use the facility, which features a whirlpool, weight machines and a locker room. The fee is 56 percent higher than the $39 a month paid by regular YMCA members, who have access to other fitness equipment.

Tiered membership is contrary to the YMCA's philosophy, Stevenson has said. About 10 Y's nationwide offer tiered membership, according to the YMCA of the USA national headquarters in Chicago.

When he talks of the YMCA, Stevenson seems more focused on the future than the current dispute.

"We are working toward building our YMCA family, 'that they may all be one,'" said Stevenson, citing a quote from St. John's gospel that once was part of the YMCA's logo.

Stevenson grew up in the Washington, D.C., area and has spent 17 years -- most of his adult life -- as a YMCA professional in locations including Ohio and Maryland. He also referees basketball.

Bensink, a freelance writer, first joined the YMCA in Corry, Erie County.

The YMCA was founded in London in 1844 at the height of the industrial revolution to give transplanted young working men a more spiritual focus than what was found in the gin mills. A worldwide organization, the YMCA operates 2,500 facilities in the United States serving about 18.9 million men, women and children, according to the group's Web site.

The Sewickley Y has 7,700 voting members.

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