By Kevin Opsahl and
Matt Phelps
Kirkland Reporter
The Kirkland City Council gave approval by a unanimous vote Tuesday, May 4 for the city to negotiate a contract with the Bellevue YMCA to take over the Kirkland Teen Union Building and programs.
“What an exciting opportunity. We are really lucky to have the YMCA as a partner,” said Kirkland City Council member Penny Sweet.
The council requested that the agreement to be written as a long term contract and that the YMCA present yearly updates to the council.
“Our intention is for this to be a long term agreement,” said Kirkland City Manager Marilynne Beard, who added that the YMCA would essentially keep things as they are, including counciling programs through Youth Eastside Services (YES).
The contract that is to be negotiated will probably look like the previous agreement with the Friends of Youth. Under that agreement the YMCA would be given a 10 year contract with the city to operate the 5,000 square foot facility that has provided educational and emotional outreach to disadvantaged youth in Kirkland since 2001. Friends of Youth decided it could not maintain KTUB late last year and subsequently stepped aside.
The Bellevue YMCA was chosen unanimously after Parks and Community Services consulted with the KTUB staff, the Kirkland Youth Council and the KTUB Advisory Board on a “request for qualifications” to see which organizations were interested. The Kirkland Boys and Girls Club was the only other organization up for consideration.
“At the YMCA, we strive to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities,” said Kirkland resident and finance chair for the Bellevue YMCA Katy Beck. “On a daily basis we serve between 800 and 1,000 members at our locations throughout this area … As a YMCA board member and parent, I am really excited for the potential of the YMCA’s involvement with KTUB in providing a place where teens feel safe, where they have positive adult role models, have a say in their community and are encouraged to grow and develop to their fullest potential. That is what we look forward to continuing at KTUB.”
The other options for KTUB included: Closing KTUB, allowing the current KTUB director to establish a 501c3 organization, discuss the possibility with Friends of Youth to continue operations through May, 2011, or let the city operate KTUB.
“It was a big win when the council said that it did not want to close KTUB down,” said Co-chair of the Kirkland Youth Council Kevin Lemme. “We have this great asset that is unique to Kirkland and we want to try to keep it that way.”
KTUB would operate under a fixed budget of $220,120. This includes $160,000 for operations, $32,689 for facility operations and maintenance and facility sinking fund charges and $27,431 to YES for counseling.
Between the summer of 2008 and 2009, KTUB served 10,181 youths (17 percent of which are not in school) and received 26,955 visits. The average KTUB visitor is age 17 in the 10th grade, according to statistics compiled by Hite.
“Right now, I can’t imagine what life would be like without KTUB,” said Mariah Mash, an employee at KTUB. “KTUB has filled a void in Kirkland … The staff has helped me cope with personal and vocational challenges by recognizing my strengths and resources. Before I came to KTUB, personally it was really hard for me to open up to people … but since then I’ve made so many new friends.”
The Bellevue YMCA serves an area stretching from 124th Ave. N.E. in Kirkland south to I-90 and from Lake Washington to Lake Sammamish.
