The Springfield City Council allocated $719,000 from
a federal grant to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield last week for
a proposed community center on the city’s east side. Kristin Allen, executive director of the Springfield
Boys & Girls Clubs, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this
year, says the money is the first installment of a planning grant, secured
by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin last year to get the ball rolling on the project.
Allen says the grant provides a five-year funding stream, though it’s
unlikely that the project’s completion will take that long. Noting that Boys & Girls Clubs elsewhere, which
have undertaken projects similar to the one planned for Springfield, have
taken as long as five years to complete, Allen says, “ We don’t
want that to happen here, but it’s a balance to make sure the center
meets the needs of the community.” The amount of the original grant was $750,000, but
federal legislation last year cut the amount by 0.8 percent, or $6,000. The
city’s Office of Planning and Economic Development also receives
$25,000 for administration, Allen says. Although she’s happy to have the money in the
bank, Allen says, it doesn’t mean that the project will be rushed
along. The organization isn’t quite ready to purchase the at least
10-acres of land needed to construct the $5 million to $8 million community
center somewhere east of Ninth Street. Last year, members from a project-steering committee,
the Ministerial Alliance, and the Boys & Girls Clubs’ own board
of directors formed three committees. The program-planning committee met for six months
until January, when it was determined that the new center should focus on
education and career development, health, life skills, family support,
sports, recreation, and fitness. The site committee, Allen says, has
narrowed its search to four sites, all in east Springfield. Since January, the development committee has been in
talks with potential partners who will not only assist with financing but
will also have a physical presence on the site. Major partners being
courted include Senior Services of Central Illinois, the Southern Illinois
University School of Medicine, and Springfield’s Lincoln Library,
park district, and District 186. Allen hopes that commitments can be gotten from
prospective partners in the next three to six months, which means at least
another year before construction could get under way. “We put the cart before the horse in some
instances. I’d hesitate to identify a specific month when
groundbreaking could start,” Allen says. “We’re moving quickly, but we’re
moving thoughtfully.”
This article appears in May 11-17, 2006.
