Creating a Burlingame Teen Center

By Cathy Baylock

My views on creating a Teen Center and ensuring its success

Before we even begin to discuss potential locations I think we need to agree on the premise that a Teen Center should not be "given" to this community, that the kids themselves need to "take ownership" of the project. What I mean by this is that the kids need to take responsibility for making it happen and for the ongoing work that goes into its upkeep. 1) There needs to be a spirit of Cooperation between the teen community and its parents, and the City. Perhaps there could be matching funds from the City for funds the group raises. Could the building be used for other things that benefit the entire community? 2) There needs to be personal Contribution on the part of its members. There needs to be a "maintenance" component to membership e.g. one needs to contribute a certain number of "service hours" per month to maintain membership in good standing or a member must put in so many hours to renovate a proposed building, etc... Also, I believe a small user fee would be appropriate and certainly justified. 3) Lastly, I think there need to be Consequences for unacceptable behavior including fines or banishment.

I think the seated City Council, in good faith, could have disbursed the $4000 in requested funds and directed the Teen Committee to use the funds towards producing a professional "concept" paper along with a scheme for a physical site. They could research other sites ranging from the simple teen center over Angela's deli in Millbrae to the full-blown teen center in San Carlos. I prefer procuring a site (on a rental basis) in one of the downtown areas along transportation corridors and start a small scale operation. Funds could be used from renting the Depot for another use like, perhaps, bike storage for commuters using Cal-train. The fact that the Depot is underutilized makes it a perfect candidate for commercial or retail use. We could even house our Visitors and Convention Bureau in the spot rather than paying its rent on Anza Boulevard and designating it a Visitors' Information Booth.

The above ideas are among many I have for innovatively using our existing resources to serve an underserved community.
s/ Cathy Baylock