Touted as an “ideal location,” the Tuolumne Recreation Department announced a new site for the Jamestown Youth Center Tuesday morning.
Recreation director Mike Russel said the new 24-foot-by-40-foot portable building, with 1,500-square-feet of usable space, will be located on the Jamestown Elementary School grounds at 7th Street, in a joint venture between the county and the Jamestown School District.
The new center will be located next to the Jamestown Family Resource Center, also known as Healthy Start. It will replace the present facility located next to Living Waters Assembly of God Church on 9th Street.
Supervisor Dick Pland said he knew of the difficulty in finding a new home for the center.
“I´m aware of the struggle to find a site,” Pland said Tuesday morning. “We were up against a brick wall to find a suitable location. We really have the right location now.”
The supervisor praised the cooperation of the two public groups (Tuolumne County and the Jamestown School District) for working together on the project and coming to an agreement.
Russell said the kids at the new youth center will enjoy the benefit of the new home.
“We anticipate using the school grounds and all their facilities which the school has made available to us,” Russell said.
He said more than 470 kids a month, or well over 5,000 children annually, use the youth center, which provides supervised care and activities for area kids well into the evening.
The county will lease the site from the school district for 10 years, with monthly rent costing from $650 in the first year to $750 in the tenth year.
Russell said the county will pay for site improvements and utilities installation, which will help off-set the monthly rent for the next few years, dropping the amount to approximately $350 per month, depending on the final cost of site improvements.
Russell expects the new youth center will be ready for kids by October of this year.
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 5:31 pm