Redmond — Former participants in Redmond’s Old Firehouse Teen Center told the City Council on Jan. 6 they were excluded from decisions about the facility’s closure and relocation, and called for a more transparent, youth-centered rebuilding process.

Wolf Adriatico recounted the venue’s long history as Redmond’s first city hall, police and fire station and later as a youth music venue. "This is an issue worth researching and it is worth resolving," he said, urging the council to consider community impacts.

Max Roman, a former Old Firehouse team member who said he returned to find the property surrounded by chain-link fencing and "no trespassing" signs, criticized the administration’s stakeholder process as exclusionary and said the relocation to a different community center has not produced comparable participation. "We were kicked out and then told to engage in a process that most of us were excluded from," Roman said.

Roman and others noted a November council motion approving rebuilding the team center on the same location with an emphasis on expedience, centering teen voices and including a music performance and a recording studio. They praised that motion but said the implementation to date has felt dismissive to the community that used the space.

Council members thanked speakers and acknowledged the past motion; the comments did not produce immediate administrative responses during the meeting. Petitioners asked the council and parks staff to ensure teen voices are central to the design and that the city communicate closure and reconstruction plans more clearly.

Why it matters: The Old Firehouse served as a longstanding youth and music venue; advocates say preserving opportunities for teen engagement requires active, inclusive design and outreach during rebuild planning.

Next steps: Speakers requested that council leadership and parks staff re-engage affected community members and ensure the rebuild process centers youth input; council follow-up was requested for future committee or council talk-time consideration.