Charles E. Lakin YMCA 235 Harmony Street, Council Bluffs, IA 51503

"I worked for the daycare part, I enjoyed the kids, but not the team lead in the 3-4 year olds room, Shelby. She was constantly rude to the kids, yelling and laying her hands on the kids and nothing got done about it. The director & two other staff seen her grab a child by her face and yet nothing got done. Shelby was lazy as can be. Never cleaned the tables correctly, always on her phone and made sure to let everyone know that she is the lead so she didn’t have to do anything. She paid more attention to her girlfriend who also works there and the pre-k room where her best friend also works instead of actually working. If I didn’t have leave there or even have my child there I would have pulled her due to safety reasons. I don’t need anyone laying their hands on my child. Anyone in their right mind knows a 3 year old has accidents. But to Shelby, they shouldn’t and they got yelled at for it. There was one little girl who had them on a regular basis for awhile and she would come up to me scared bc she didn’t want Ms. Shelby yelling at her. If it wasn’t for Shelby and the director not doing anything I would recommend this daycare. It’s unfortunate really because my daughter loved her teachers."

"I very rarely have a bad experience there. It’s a solid facility with a great staff, courteous, and friendly. I think they do their best to serve the community well with a clean and safe environment for physical fitness and positive activity."

"The facility still feels very new, fresh, and clean. The amount of natural light up on the second floor workout area is phenomenal. Unfortunately, I feel like it's already too small to adequately serve the CB area. The only time it's not crowded is for a small window of time on Sundays. There's only one leg extension machine and last night I was 5th in line. Either CB needs a second Y, or they need to kick CHI outta there and expand the workout facilities."

"Just signed up for a Y membership. I’ve frequented various locations and I would consider this one the nicest, cleanest facility. The staff involved in getting me started was very informative, patient, and helpful. Big shout out to Jermaine and Jared! However, after I signed up, I came back later in the day with my kids to try out the pool. We’d gotten a new mesh floaty you can lounge in/just float.. Unsure off all the pool policies, I asked when we got there, “Hey, is it all right if we use this in the pool?” First gal said she’d just started and was unsure. Inquired with someone else and was told “Yes, you can.” Fast forward 15-20 minutes. Kids and I are floating in the pool, having a blast, when an employee walks up to us and sharply says, “You can’t have that in the pool.” I was a little taken aback by the attitude and tone of her voice.. But I calmly replied, “I asked as soon as I got here if we could bring this in.” “No. The owner says you can’t have it.” I removed my son from said toy and he starter bawling.. Very dissatisfied with the lack of respect and inconsistency. 2 other parents saw what happened and informed me they both have experienced issues with staff.. Trying not to let the experience leave a bad taste in my mouth.. Because it really is a nice facility and I don’t want some rotten apples to ruin it!"

"This is definitely the newest and nicest gym facility in Council Bluffs. My main issue with it is that the lifting area is far too small for the amount of people who seem to want to use it. I had a 10-day trial pass when I was considering joining, but I couldn't bring myself to join a gym where I knew I'd frequently have issues getting access to the equipment necessary for my planned exercises. The other thing that prevented me from signing up for a full membership was the limited hours. I guess they're not that different from most other YMCAs in the metro area, but sometimes I enjoy working out later in the evening to avoid the crowds. You can't do that at the YMCA because they close at 9 on weekdays and even earlier on weekends."