Youth advisory mock council votes to deny proposed teen center at Seventh Street Park

The Yucaipa Youth Advisory Committee debated a proposal to build a teen center at Seventh Street Park and recorded a motion to deny the project in a mock council vote Thursday evening.

Audrina Galato, the city's director of community services, presented the plan, describing a building designed with warm materials and amenities including homework tables, computer stations and a snack bar. Galato told the committee the project would aim to serve an estimated 60—100 teens daily and proposed a $900,000 total budget: $650,000 in capital (about $500,000 for the building and $150,000 for equipment) and $250,000 in annual operating expenses that would include staffing.

The nut of the debate, council members said, centered on location, costs and how to ensure teen safety. Members asked whether 13-year-olds without cars could realistically travel to Seventh Street Park, how the center would be funded beyond modest snack and event revenues, and what security measures would prevent problems cited by nearby residents.

Public commenters were split. Skyler Miller, a neighbor of the park, opposed the center, saying it would increase traffic and calling the $900,000 price tag unaffordable. "This is going to create traffic," Miller said, adding concern that the center would allow unsupervised entry and could bring problems to the surrounding neighborhood. Kay, an ice cream shop owner, supported the idea and offered to sell snacks at the center to help generate revenue for both the city and local businesses. Shawn Moore, who identified himself as a city manager in Ontario and a local property owner, opposed the project on fiscal grounds, asserted that no environmental-quality report had been provided and said his attorneys would contact the city attorney's office.

After discussion of transportation options (including existing bus lines and enforcement for e-bike violations), potential volunteer and school partnerships, and outreach plans, a committee member moved to deny the teen center at Seventh Street Park; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The transcript does not record the names of the motion's maker or second, nor does it record a numerical vote tally.

The mock vote does not bind city staff to any course of action; committee members asked staff to return with more detailed funding and security plans before pursuing a future proposal. The record shows the committee's immediate direction was to deny the proposal as presented.

Fiscal details provided at the presentation show the budget as proposed but did not include a proposed funding source or repayment plan; council members repeatedly requested staff follow-up on financing, security and access. The committee moved on to other agenda items after the vote.

Next steps: staff were asked to refine options for funding and security and to explore alternative sites and partnerships, but the committee took no immediate action to approve construction or commit city funds.