Rubonia children could attend summer program at closed community center

RUBONIA -- The shuttered Rubonia Community Center may reopen for the summer.

The Rubonia Community Association has asked the county for funding assistance to run a Summer Youth Program at the center, 1309 72nd St. E., which has been closed since 2013. The summer program would run from June 20 to July 29.

"Our only initiative is to achieve a goal of providing an educational and recreational program for the youth this summer, by utilizing members of the community to coordinate this program," Rubonia Community Association chairwoman Mary Brown said in a letter sent to the county last Wednesday.

Rubonia Community Association, which will provide the program for youth up to age 17, estimates that 30 people will attend each week, according to the proposed agreement.

"Educational services will assist with maintaining reading levels for school age children to prevent the 'summer slide,'" according to the agreement.

At Tuesday's meeting, the commission is being asked to approve the funding agreement with Rubonia Community Association for $22,304. The commission could also approve $75,000 for facility/grounds renovations, including fire suppressing replacement, roof replacement, HVAC replacement and exterior grounds improvements. The funds would come from the reserve for contingency fund.

"The county has a strong desire to reopen the center for use by the residents and has agreed to proceed with essential renovations that would allow the center to be open for use for the summer program with the Rubonia Community Association, Incorporated," according to agenda materials.

As of now, the center will cease operation at the conclusion of the summer program on July 29. But the Rubonia Community Association hopes to operate the center past the summer.

"If we are successful in providing a quality summer program, we would like to discuss with Manatee County the ability to use the facility year round for all age residents of the Rubonia area," Brown said in the letter.

After New Path Academy, which submitted the sole proposal to Manatee County to acquire and operate the center, dropped its plans last month, the Rubonia Community Association contacted the county about wanting to do something, said Cheri Coryea, the county's neighborhood services director.

"They wanted to do a summer program and we've been working on the other project, the ITN, in hopes to have something open," Coryea said. "When that broke down, the association contacted us and said we would really like to do something. We've been working on internally what we could do for the building. This is the way to actually get some services to the youth for the summer."

When the summer program concludes, the county's property management department would go back and make other improvements to the building, Coryea said.

Last summer, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County stepped forward to provide a summer program for the Rubonia children despite the closed Rubonia Community Center. But Coryea said many of the residents wanted to stay in the neighborhood instead of being bused to Palmetto.

"This will allow them to stay there," she said.

While the county has no plans to do another invitation to negotiate for an agency to operate the community center, Coryea said if the summer program works "maybe we will be able to do something more permanent."

"We want to see how it is going to go with the association," she said. "A lot of organizations and citizens have contacted the county in the last six months in hopes that Rubonia will make a rebound. They have offered to help in various ways. It is our hope that some other programs offered throughout the county will find a home out there as well."

Coryea pointed to programs run at the library and health department that could possibly be brought to Rubonia once a week or once a month.

"It is good enrichment for Rubonia folks to see the other programs offered," she said.

Once the Rubonia Community Association gets the facility, the nonprofit could apply for some grants, Coryea said.

"They truly want it to be a community center for all the residents," she said. "In order to do that, they have to work on a business plan, they need a fund-raising plan."

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Rubonia children could attend summer program at closed community center ."