Salina’s first Boys & Girls Club facility is closer to becoming a reality. At a study session Monday, Salina City Commissioners approved moving forward with the public / private partnership.

Back on August 25th the Boys and Girls Club presented a plan to locate a new facility at Sunset Park. It will be located north of Bondy Field, where tennis courts used to be located.

The facility will not impact the nearby baseball fields.  The Mexican/American baseball club uses the field on Sundays in the Fall, and there was also broader concerns from the baseball community about removing the fields from the system

The Boys & Girls Club of Salina requests support from the City of Salina in the following areas to help establish the new facility:

• Establishment of a long-term lease agreement for the portion of land just south of Sunset Park.
• Platting and rezoning of the property.
• Extension of water and sewer services to the property line.
• Grounds maintenance and snow removal.
• Road and Parking Improvements.
• Formal partnership to guide the collaborative agreement.

The Boys & Girls Club Salina Chapter is already serving kids, about 30 a day at Oakdale Elementary School. The organization serves about 2,000 kids in Hutchinson, including outreach.

The organization indicated they already have about half of the money raised for the project, and anticipate breaking  ground this summer for the Salina facility, which will include community use space inside it.

City staff  will now work with the Boys & Girls Club to draft an agreement for future action, which should be back before the commission within about 30 days.