Council discusses $200,000 proposal to expand access at Remington Boys and Girls Club; staff to draft detailed agreement

Council member David Peters on Sept. 16 introduced a proposal to expand access and programming at the Remington Boys and Girls Club, asking the City Council to consider city support — including transportation, scholarships, healthy snacks and subsidized community access — and describing an initial price tag and a $200,000 city funding request for the program component under consideration.

Peters said the proposal grew from conversations that began in February and from consultations with the Boys and Girls Club executive director and community members. "One of the concerns that emerged initially was ... operating cost," Peters said, and the current document aims to couple any financial commitment with measurable outcomes. He said the draft identifies five priority areas: transportation to the clubhouses, a healthy-snack program, annual membership scholarships, team programming and expanded community access to the Remington facility.

Staff and presenters noted transportation gaps tied to school-district bus eligibility. Todd, identified in the meeting as a staff presenter, explained that the district provides transportation from elementary schools to clubhouses only if a school is located more than 1.5 miles from a clubhouse. Todd said some elementary and middle schools lack direct bus service to Remington and that middle-school transportation uses a different contractor that does not route students to the West End where Remington is located.

Cost estimates presented to the council included per-hour facility rental rates used by the club (for example, $150 an hour for sports-team practice in the gym, $125 an hour for meeting rooms, $225 an hour for adult parties and $100 an hour for a green room) and program-level totals. Peters said the document lists a $195,300 figure for a subset of outcomes and a $2,201,100 annual cost for the "complete package." The council member framed the city’s possible contribution as a targeted investment to increase access for children and families who cannot pay membership or rental fees.

Council members pressed for more detail. Council member Tarantino questioned the transportation assumptions, asking how the city would ensure efficient use of buses and whether the proposal overestimated daily ridership: "How do you determine if it's worthwhile to have 4 buses ... because you're gonna have that constant variation," Tarantino said, urging data on usage and administration. Tarantino also requested clarity on eligibility and process for subsidized community access and asked how the city would prevent the subsidy from being captured by groups that already can pay.

Other council members raised implementation and budget-timing questions. The city manager said staff would seek a more detailed, itemized proposal from the Boys and Girls Club and draft an agreement that spells out deliverables, required documentation, reimbursement procedures and administrative costs (staff estimated an additional 5–10 percent administrative load could apply). The manager also said any allocation would be considered during the 2026 budget process; there was no vote to appropriate funds on Sept. 16.

Next steps: Staff will request a formal, detailed proposal from the Boys and Girls Club that itemizes costs and deliverables for each component (transportation, snacks, scholarships, team programming, community access) and will prepare a draft agreement for council review. The council asked that the proposal be returned and that staff provide additional data on administration, utilization projections, criteria for scholarships and community access, and existing city funding to the clubs.

No formal council action or appropriation occurred at the Sept. 16 meeting; the item remained a discussion and will return with a written proposal and draft agreement for review before the 2026 budget process.