by Chris Munzing
Eager to build off the success of last summer's children's center at East School, but wanting to focus on the difficult-to-reach high-school-age kids in town, city officials said they made it a priority to develop an option for older teens for the summer.
City Manager Charles Theofan said that all construction for the teen center will be done in-house, and that $20,000 in community development funds were allocated for equipment. Theofan said he did not know what the total cost of the center would be.
Director of Community Development Laurie Buscemi said that the program will run Monday through Friday during the summer. Activities will include video games, a pool table, computers and televisions, a movie night and outdoor activities like softball and basketball.
The school district and Long Beach Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking held "Teen Nite Out" on June 4, at which more than 150 kids filled the high school to participate in games and activities designed to keep them off the street.
"During last year's listening tours throughout the city, it became apparent that an issue among young families was the lack of a safe, supervised location for teens to gather," said City Council Vice President Tom Sofield. "I am proud that my colleagues on the council and I succeeded in providing such a location. These are the types of services that make Long Beach so special."
"I think this is wonderful," said Councilman Denis Kelly. "We've been talking about doing this for years, and I think now we have enough good people to go forward and make it happen. There is a clamoring in the community to do this."
Kelly said that the largest obstacle facing the teen center was getting the kids inside. "It's difficult to tell teenagers, as adults, that this is a good place to hang out," he said. "It's going to be a learning experience to see what works, what's going to bring them in. I hope we're able to put it together and make it worthwhile for them."
Shoreline Protection Project
Also at Tuesday night's meeting, an informal poll of the Long Beach City Council by members of the Surfrider Foundation found the five council members did not support the current proposed United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Shoreline Protection Project.
Jeff Kupferman, an outspoken critic of the project and member of the Surfriders, asked each member of the council his or her feelings on the project during the Good and Welfare portion of the meeting, and all said that they could not approve the project as is.
City Manager Charles Theofan said that the USACE would be meeting with City Engineer Rob Raab June 9 to discuss the possibility of changes to the project.
Raab said during the meeting's public-works session that the USACE would be providing him with the ever-elusive sand sample from the pumping area on the ocean floor that would be pumped onto the beach and form the five-foot high dune.
Theofan was also quick to add that the members of the council were likely speaking out against a proposal that no longer existed. "The council has not seen the final plans," Theofan said.
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