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New teen center needs a name

by Daniel DeBolt

The city is asking for some creative action from residents in an effort to find a good name for the city's new teen center.

Perhaps a noteworthy youth advocate deserves his or her name on it? Or maybe just "Mountain View Teen Center?" It's anyone's guess.

Adults take note: the city is soliciting ideas from teens.

An online entry form for proposed names has been set up at tinyurl.com/teencentername. A winner will be selected after the teens on the Youth Advisory Committee pick their favorite names and forward them to the Parks and Recreation Commission, which will come up with at least two for the City Council to chose from. So far, 67 people have submitted their favorites.

The teen center is planned for the former Rock Church building on Escuela Avenue, purchased by the city for $3.5 million in 2009. The Parks and Recreation Commission will review a "90 percent complete" design for the renovation in September or October, said Fred Fallah, senior project manager for the Public Works Department.

In a $1.9 million renovation, the large area where worship services were held in the church building is likely to become a multi-purpose room, while some walls will be built and others removed to create classrooms with computers and a kitchen for cooking classes. Other spaces will be designed to have as many uses as possible, Fallah said. There's also the more basic items in the works — bathrooms accessible for the disabled, working air conditioning and upgrades to the building's electrical system.

The exterior and landscaping has yet to be designed. Fallah said there will likely be basketball and volleyball courts that may also be used as parking spaces, but much of the existing asphalt will remain. "We're not going to use most of the money just to asphalt the site," Fallah said, addressing the concerns of some council members.

The City Council could approve the design in February 2013 and construction could be complete by the end of next year, Fallah said.

The final touch may be a piece of art funded with 1 percent of the project's budget, possibly a statue or architectural element on the building to be picked by the city's Visual Arts Committee.

Email Daniel DeBolt at ddebolt@mv-voice.com