BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter
Since the old Carnegie Library stopped hosting dances more than 20 years ago, Turlock’s teens have largely been without a place to gather. The newly revitalized Parks and Recreation Commission, formerly the Community Services Commission wants to change that, as they look to put a new teen center atop their list of priorities for the coming years.
The search for a facility is still in the early stages, but some of the locations being mentioned include the old Turlock War Memorial and the current Turlock Police Department buildings, which are set to be empty once construction is completed on the new Public Safety Facility planned for the lot next to the Carnegie.
The monkey wrench, as always, is money.
To retrofit the War Memorial, which at this point looks to be the quickest path to a teen center, would cost at least $200,000 just to meet earthquake safety standards. A very rough estimate from Municipal Services Director Dan Madden pegs a completed teen center in that location at a cost of between $1 and $2 million.
Unfortunately, grant money looks hard to come by. According to city officials, Turlock, a city of just 70,000, is often passed over in favor of places like Oakland and Los Angeles by grant committees, as the money is thought to benefit more citizens.
The PRC has another idea, however. If the city - currently operating at a $1.5 million deficit - can’t give them the money, and the state - with an expected $10 plus billion deficit - doesn’t have the money, then perhaps they could ask the public for some help.
“There’s no telling how much money we could raise by putting it on the ballot,” said commissioner Dave Shabaz. “We could end up with a really nice facility.”
City officials have questioned the potential support for a tax, which must be endorsed by the City Council in order to make the ballot. Voters will already be deciding on a half-cent sales tax to benefit Stanislaus County’s roads this November, as well as a bond measure to finance California High-Speed Rail development.
“I think you have enough old Turlockers who grew up in this town who would definitely support something like this,” said commissioner Brent Bohlender.
Even with funding yet to be identified, the PRC looks to move forward with planning, just to get the ball rolling on the process. The next step appears to be the investigation of the design of other community centers so that the PRC can better plan for Turlock’s own teen center.
“Everyone constantly complains about kids and their graffiti and their gangs, but there’s no place for these kids to go,” said commissioner Gabriele Kinsella. “There’s no money for this, and yet there’s more police officers, more police officers, more police officers, and I just don’t get it.”
To contact Alex Cantatore, e-mail acantatore@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2005.
Originally published in the Turlock Journal 6/25/2008.
Retrieved from the Turlock Journal Web site.