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Community debate erupts over Ella Hill Hutch stewardship as Booker T seeks 13‑month lease
Summary
Dozens of speakers urged the Board of Supervisors to either approve or pause a proposed 13‑month lease to Booker T Washington to operate Ella Hill Hutch Community Center; supporters cited essential youth and senior services, while others demanded greater transparency and a co‑leadership arrangement for accountability.
A sustained public comment block at the May 19 Board of Supervisors meeting focused on the future of Ella Hill Hutch Community Center and a proposed short‑term stabilization lease with Booker T Washington.
Supporters of Booker T spoke in force. Lamonica Hopkins, Be Safe associate director at Booker T, said the organization’s programs serve both youth and adults and that a 13‑month lease would "save community," providing immediate continuity for summer programs and senior services. "This is about saving community as a whole and not splitting two black agencies apart who actually have history together," Hopkins said.
Multiple former participants, staff and community leaders recounted the center’s role in providing after‑school care, internships and employment for teens and lifelong services for seniors. "These programs help my children feel more confident in school," one speaker said, urging the board to execute the lease so summer programming and teen jobs can start on schedule.
Other residents and faith leaders asked the board to delay approval until Booker T leadership meets with black faith leadership and community stakeholders. Reverend Amos Brown (former supervisor and long‑time civic leader) urged the board not to adopt any measure until community‑preferred co‑leadership plans were fully considered. He told the board he and other community members had been excluded from planning and asked that the board require Booker T to adopt the community’s recommended governance model.
Speakers raised practical concerns — workforce continuity, the timeline for summer programming, legal and financial accountability and whether a co‑director model could provide oversight. One speaker cited a Harvard study (as presented) on closures of black‑led organizations after leadership transitions and warned that closing or mishandling Ella Hill Hutch would worsen community loss.
Board members and the clerk noted this was public comment and that a later agenda item would address lease stabilization in committee or on the calendar. The transcript records no final board vote on the lease during the meeting; supporters and opponents both said they would continue to press the issue with supervisors and the mayor’s office.
