Work to Begin on Murrieta Youth Center

Murrieta's first youth center is set to break ground soon.

City council awarded a $3.18-million contract to Temecula-based Keeton Construction with a unanimous vote Tuesday. The contract is for the first phase of the 16,000-square-foot center. Phase 1 is 5,200-square-feet and includes a recreation/gathering room, activity rooms, restrooms, an outdoor patio area, parking lot and landscaping.

The center will be built on a city-owned 3.08-acre parcel next to , adjacent to The property was purchased in 1999, and in 2006, architectural plans were finalized for the center.

In 2011, the project was included in the city's .

During a workshop held May 1, a majority of council members placed the youth center at the top of a priority list of four imminent capital improvement projects.

"Teens in this area have lack of choices," said Councilman Alan Long.

Councilman Randon Lane agreed.

"This is something that has been on the books for a long time; it's something the community needs," Lane said. "It is something that has been called out by both teens and parents in our community."

Assistant City Manager Jim Holston said bids for the youth center came in over budget.

It was first estimated at $1.8 million, but was bumped up to $2.5 million, according to an article published by The Californian.

Keeton Construction came in as the lowest bidder, according to staff reports.

"We had the bids for the youth center that came in over budget so we were looking at how we could move things around," Holston said, noting because of the down economy, less Community Services District fees were coming in.

CSD funds are collected through property taxes and developer fees and must be used for community improvements.

To build the youth center—which includes a 15-percent contingency fund, bringing the total to $3.65 million—city council approved the transfer of $648,483 in Regional Statistic Area fees and $78,553 in Park Development Impact fees.

In addition to the teen center, city council prioritized synthetic turf football fields at and restrooms for . A historic park in the downtown area was given lower priority but will remain on the city's to-do list.

Assistant City Manger Jim Holston said there were enough CSD funds to build the youth center, install restrooms at Town Square and put down synthetic turf.

"Let's say we put them all in a jar, we shake it up and we've got $5.5 million in funds," Holston said.

He said $2.9 million of that was dedicated to a community or youth center.

"It has to stay in that category, so if we don’t spend it on a community center, it stays there."

The price tag of the 2nd Avenue Park is about $2 million, Holston said, of which $1.3 million had been set aside. County redevelopment fees were also slated for the park, he said, but that funding remained in limbo with state dissolution of redevelopment agencies.

City council gave direction to concentrate on completing the other projects rather than start another just yet.

"(Town Square Park) is under-utilized because we don’t have restrooms," said Councilwoman Kelly Bennett. "We already have an under-utilized project that we’ve started and we need to complete."

Synthetic turf was given high priority because it also serves the youth of the community. The city recently opened its first synthetic turf baseball field at Torrey Pines Park.

Several representatives of local youth sports leagues attended the May 1 workshop to ask that synthetic turf be a priority.

"People are looking for places to practice, they are looking for places to exercise," said Mike Vaez, commissioner of Murrieta-Temecula Friday Night Lights flag football league. "But when a park gets shuts down because of the rain, it gets shuts down. Grass is closed to the public and kids just don’t have a place to play."

Mayor Doug McAllister said he based his priorities on "per capita use and how we are using the people's money." He was the lone council member to put synthetic turf at the top of his list, while others ranked it second or third.

McAllister expressed concern about funding the operation of the youth center.

"Operationally, are we even really going to address the need if we are building the building, but if we are not going to have the funds to operate it and furnish it?" McAllister said.

According to Holston there is a full-time staff person along with several part-timers who can be utilized. He also hoped not all of the 15-percent contingency funds would be needed for construction. Anything left over, he said, could be put toward furnishing the center. The city could also seek corporate sponsors to furnish it, he said.

Holston said construction on the youth center will likely take about 45 days to start, which puts in it late June or early July. It should be complete by summer 2013, he said.