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Boys & Girls Club seeks state capital funding as renovation nears completion
Summary
Leaders of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell asked the Lowell City Council on Jan. 28 to send a letter urging the governor to include two delegation amendments totaling $7 million in the state economic development bond bill to finish renovations at the club27s Clemente Park campus.
Leaders of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell told the City Council on Jan. 28 they are asking the governor and lieutenant governor to include $5 million and $2 million amendments in the state economic development bond bill to continue construction and complete renovations at the club27s Clemente Park campus.
Joe Hundler, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club, updated the council on construction progress and asked the council to provide a letter of support to the city27s state delegation and the governor27s office for the proposed bond‑bill amendments. Hundler said the club27s kitchen is operational and the new teen center will open in June; completion of the next phases would raise daily capacity from roughly 450 to about 600 children per day.
“Once the teen center is complete, we27re able to serve a lot more kids,” Hundler told councilors, describing the entrance improvements, a planned black‑box theater and building upgrades needed to become fully ADA‑compliant. He said the club has secured amendments from the delegation but needs those sums placed in the governor27s capital spending plan to avoid expiration of the earmarks.
Councilors voiced broad support. Councilor Robinson said the club27s work is a “no‑brainer,” and several councilors praised the club27s role in providing after‑school and summer services and noted prior city ARPA funding committed to the project. Mayor O27Rourke and other councilors urged the manager and clerk to help transmit a formal letter of support to the governor and to Congresswoman Trahan27s office.
Staff noted the council motion asking the manager to provide support was nonbinding and would take the form of a letter encouraging the governor to include the amendments in the capital plan. The council voted to adopt the motion by voice vote.
What happens next: The city manager27s office will prepare and send a letter of support to the governor and state delegation highlighting the project27s local benefits and the need to include the $5M and $2M delegation amendments in the capital plan. The club will continue construction, with the teen center scheduled to open in June and subsequent phases following as funding is secured.
