Baltimore Mikvah more than doubled in price

amother

Pink

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:01 pm

Wow. I was so shocked. They used to keep it very cheap ($12)and it was intentional. All of the sudden they made it super fancy and upped the price to $25. This is the community mikvah. There is no other place to go. I can technically afford to pay so I won't be causing waves but there really are many people who cant. There should have been warning or a mailing or something to let people know. That is a massive jump....

amother

Sienna

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:08 pm

I'm sure they won't turn anybody away.

what changes have been made to make it 'super fancy?'

amother

Pink

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:13 pm

amother wrote:

I'm sure they won't turn anybody away.

what changes have been made to make it 'super fancy?'

Chandeliers in the hallways. Marble countertops. Fully tiled bathrooms. Extra deep tubs.

amother

Pink

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:15 pm

justmarried:) wrote:

25 is a very reasonable standard price for mikvah.

In NY. Baltimore always had a thing for keeping it's community mikvah on the cheaper end. I'm sad to see that this policy changed. It was one of the ways we were still an out of town community.

amother

cornflower

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:17 pm

justmarried:) wrote:

25 is a very reasonable standard price for mikvah.

It's a standard price, but I wouldn't call it reasonable. These little extra fees here and there are very often what breaks a budget. Women don't have the option to not to go to the mikvah or any other way to do this mitzvah, so this is a fee forced upon them. Imo, there should be a only a minimal fee and anyone who wishes can contribute as much as they choose.

Especially in a town where there is only one mikvah.

das

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:21 pm

amother wrote:

who will pay teh cost then? the money has to come from somewhere.

amother

cornflower

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:22 pm

das wrote:

who will pay teh cost then? the money has to come from somewhere.

Whoever needed the chandeliers and marble tiles.

amother

Sienna

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:22 pm

amother wrote:

Chandeliers in the hallways. Marble countertops. Fully tiled bathrooms. Extra deep tubs.

I read the website about the expansion project.. very impressive (and costly).

cnc

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:25 pm

amother wrote:

Whoever needed the chandeliers and marble tiles.

Mikvahs are very expensive to maintain with or without chandeliers and marble.

amother

cornflower

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:30 pm

cnc wrote:

Mikvahs are very expensive to maintain with or without chandeliers and marble.

They seemed to have managed with less than half of the current fee before the upgrade.

amother

Pink

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:33 pm

Op here.

I know the expansion and renovation was costly. I would have understood had they raised the price to $18 or something. This was more than double and besides there was a huge community effort to raise money for the expansion. We all donated. I didn't realize that the funds weren't there before they renovated.

amother

Rose

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:34 pm

Firstly I'm sure they would never turn away someone who couldn't pay full price. And the poster who said a minimal fee-- seriously? Mikvahs are expensive to run and maintain.

amother

Purple

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:34 pm

amother wrote:

I live in Cincinnati and I believe it's $36.

You beat me to it!

Yes, $36 in Cincinnati, and cost of living here is on the lower end. There is no other mikvah in town, so we are also an OOT community mikvah, and it costs 11 more here than in Baltimore. Though, Baltimore is so big, there is much more traffic to the mikvah. Enjoy that you had such a cheap one in the past. 12 is amazingly cheap. It is sad, though, that they had to make it so much fancier and up the price. I wish budgets were more respected in the frum community.

amother

Sienna

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:35 pm

amother wrote:

do you know if mikvah fee is going towards the expansion or the maintenance / additional mikvah ladies.

amother

Sienna

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:37 pm

amother wrote:

You beat me to it!

Yes, $36 in Cincinnati, .

Perhaps that's they way they encourage large families Smile

amother

Pink

Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:43 pm

Baltimore cost of living is not cheap. Our schools are a fortune and our housing just keeps going up. With these prices its starting to feel like NY without the Manhattan salaries.

I really love Baltimore. It's was just really an unpleasant surprise. I am curious if other baltimore people would chime in with ur thoughts.