Redondo Beach Youth Commission presses city for teen center funding, transit and ‘third-space’ planning

The Redondo Beach Youth Commission on Wednesday asked city staff to return in April with specific budget information for the reopening teen center and offered priorities it wants the City Council to consider for the FY 2025–26 budget and the city’s upcoming strategic plan.

Commission members and students emphasized that requests should be as specific as possible so the City Council and city manager can evaluate them. Miss Orta, staff liaison, told commissioners the fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30 and said staff was beginning internal budget preparations: “It should be as specific as you can make it,” she said, describing an example request of “$10,000 for a mental health event at Teen Center in fiscal year ’26.”

Why it matters: The commission is an advisory body whose recommendations will be bundled into the city manager’s budget transmittal and shown to the City Council for consideration. Specific line-item requests increase the likelihood council staff can cost out proposals and include them in the manager’s recommendation.

Key points and commission guidance

- Teen center readiness and startup costs. Commissioners asked staff to return with a clear list of what infrastructure and furnishings will be provided when the teen center reopens. Miss Orta confirmed the building will have Wi‑Fi but said “there really isn't anything else” in the way of equipment and that only a “small budget” exists for furniture; ongoing programming funding is not yet allocated.

- Programming priorities. Students told the commission they want active, social programming and accessible events. Slavia, a senior, said she would participate in teen center events: “I think you should definitely make an effort to factor that into the budget because I know I would go.” Students suggested a pickleball tournament, food at events and collaborations with school clubs.

- Mental health services and youth engagement. Commissioners and students raised mental health services for teens as a budget priority. Staff encouraged commissioners to use prior teen survey data to support specific requests.

- Accessibility and equity for performances. An unnamed student who identified as deaf and hard of hearing urged consideration of closed‑captioning for community performances held at the Redondo theater/auditorium. Staff and commissioners clarified that school district budgets and facility jurisdiction differ from the city’s but agreed the commission could advocate for accessibility improvements and could coordinate with the school district or suggest the city raise the issue.

- Beach Cities Transit (BCT) improvements and youth transportation. The commission agreed to recommend that BCT service and routing be reviewed as a strategic‑plan project. Students described buses as “late,” “really full,” and occasionally leaving early, and said the BCT live‑updates website is hard to use; one student recounted using free BCT service during COVID and urged more outreach so teens know routes and stops.

- ‘Third spaces’ and pier revitalization. Commissioners urged adding a “third‑space” concept — free or low‑cost public spaces that are neither school nor home — to the strategic plan, and to consider teen needs during Pier revitalization planning so the area offers approachable, low‑cost activities for youth.

Next steps and formal action

Commissioners agreed to postpone finalizing budget requests until April to allow staff to return with teen center infrastructure details and survey data. The commission also voted to have Chairperson Felder work with staff to draft a letter for the City Council that would recommend BCT route/time review and inclusion of third‑space concepts in the strategic plan; the letter will be returned to the commission for review at its April meeting.

Staff liaison report and outreach

Miss Orta said staff expects to schedule an envisioning workshop for the teen center — described as a planning workshop rather than an official opening — likely in April, and said the teen center subcommittee will be looped into planning and implementation. She asked commissioners to reapply if they wish to remain on the commission next year.

A closing note: Commissioners asked staff to provide the teen survey results before the next meeting so commissioners can prepare specific budget requests based on the data.