Ortonville- A community center is being researched following a Jan. 10 meeting at the Brandon Township Library.
Nancy Strohschein chaired the meeting, which was attended by seven members of the community who discussed their individual visions for what a community center should look like and plans to see if there is support in the community for such a facility.
‘We made some strides in our decision-making,? said library director JoAnn Gavey. ‘Our focus was to determine if there would be reason to go further in trying to determine if the community would support a center that could be used by all members of the community, not just the teens.?
Large numbers of children in the library after school, with incidents of vandalism and reduced adult patronage has been a catalyst for change, sparking a forum at the library last May to discuss the situation, as well as several attempts at finding a solution. Those attempts have included the Mind and Motion Club, an after school fitness and academic program at Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School, and the After School Thing, a Tuesday program at Ortonville Baptist Church.
The Community After School Task Force was formed following the forum, and the group has met on a monthly basis to discuss solutions. At the Jan. 10 meeting, it was decided the taskforce will continue, with Strohschein as chairperson.
Short-term and long-term goals were also outlined. Short-term goals hoped to be achieved in about three months include increasing participation in the group to achieve a good representation of the community and surveying parents and children to find out what they would be interested in having as far as a community center. Long-term goals (six months or more) are to find a concrete direction to move in.
‘There’s a lot to consider, but the one issue we absolutely know is there is definitely a large demand to plan for the development of a good, safe facility so parents can perhaps pay for their children to wait for them after school,? Gavey said. ‘When we do that is still to be determined. I feel very positive about this group. This time last year we were not talking about this at all. It needed to be discussed– children being alone after school. Now we have a taskforce and concern over so many children being left to public facilities to be taken care of.?
The next Community After School Task Force meeting is tentatively set for 7 p.m., Feb. 20, at the Brandon Township offices, 395 Mill St.