Welcome to a Town Hall Meeting hosted by Mayor Frank Huttle III

1. Welcome to a Town Hall Meeting hosted by Mayor Frank Huttle III

2. Tonight’s Discussion will center on: Recreation and Athletic Programs for the City’s Youth in Partnership with the Boys &Girls Club at the John T. Wright Arena

3. Topics to cover: • •Taking the First Concrete Step toward a Community Center providing recreation programs using the City’s parks and buildings. • •Bringing nonprofit groups in to enhance school day and after 3 programming for our children. • •An open discussion on John T. Wright Arena as a year round facility with full recreation programs.

4. Tonight’s Meeting Format • •Tonight’s Meeting Format will be town hall style with a moderator. • •The Meeting will follow this sequence: • ° First, Introductory Remarks • ° Second, a presentation by the Boys & Girls Club • °Third, a question and answer period and moderated open discussion with the audience

5. But First A Special Thanks to: Community Baptist Church and its Pastor, Reverend Dr. Lester W. Taylor, Jr.

6. The Vision for Programs for the City’s Youth • • The larger vision and goal is to join the resources of the City and the Schools with local and regional nonprofits with proven track records to deliver and enhance programs. • • The first step in making this vision a reality was youth programming utilizing the John T. Wright Arena in a partnership that is fueled by revenue from this City property - making it stable and sustainable. • • Next steps will be to expand the successful model by using other City facilities.

7. The Vision for a Historic Partnership that enhances programming for Englewood’s Youth City Facilities MacKay Park, John T. Wright Arena, Liberty School and others Public Private Partnership with nationally recognized Nonprofits from the Boys & Girls Club to Bergen Family Center and the Vincente K. Tibbs Child Development Center and More… Partnership with the Philanthropic Sector enabling participation of other service based not for profits – Laureus Foundation and Coaches Across America

8. Enhanced Year Round , Sustainable and Comprehensive Programming for Englewood’s Youth.

9. Background • The John T. Wright Arena • •Opened in 1980 under the leadership of Mayor Sandy Greenberg. Residents fondly remember the Arena with Friday night skating and other activities. • •City signs what becomes a 30 year lease on September 11, 1984 with the operator Larry Reid. After several extensions the lease terminated in 2011. • • Over the next 30 years, ice time available to the community steadily declined with programs for our children becoming nonexistent. • • Ice Hockey rentals steadily consume more time. • • The operator fails to maintain the facility leading to the building being returned to the City in an advanced state of disrepair…

10. Background • The John T. Wright Arena • •Hurricane Sandy heavily damaged the roof of an already decaying building. Courtesy of The Record published January 21, 2013 • “Our resident’s should never have to open a newspaper and see a City building looking like this…”

11. Reopening of • The John T. Wright Arena • •Special Council meeting held February 7, 2012 , over 30 residents and children testified. • •The Council overwhelmingly supports reopening but the late Councilman Jack Drakeford joined by the Mayor and Councilwoman Lynne Algrant emphasized the need for programming.

12. Reopening of • The John T. Wright Arena • Jack’s quotes are even more telling now: • “I would just like to see a viable program in the ice rink in Englewood, Mackay Park….[I wanted this] to become a viable program of a different sort, then we can talk…and I don’t expect it…” • •With this in mind, the Mayor, Councilwoman Algrant and others join together to make youth and adult programs part of the reopening.

13. Next Steps of the Reopening of • The John T. Wright Arena • •City offers the John T. Wright Arena to all nonprofits. • •Boys and Girls Club signs binding agreement with the City on October 2, 2012. • •So what is before the Council at this time? •  Capital Improvements necessary to insure public safety and the usability of the building to begin • Improvements necessary to make the John T. Wright Arena shine.

14. RIGHT NOW - the Reopening of • The John T. Wright Arena • •John T. Wright Arena and the programming for our children are in jeopardy due to lack of support by the full Council. • •Council members attempted to table the discussion for another day. • • After years of work, the day to make a decision is NOW. • •This evening is an open discussion amongst the community on the future of the John T. Wright Arena and programming for the City’s Youth. • •Tomorrow night’s Council Meeting will decide the future of the John T. Wright Arena.

15. Boys and Girls Club of Englewood • For the John T. Wright Arena • •The vision for enhanced community programming becomes a day to day reality through the partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Englewood at the John T. Wright Arena. • •I would like to introduce the Boys and Girls Club…

16. • I would like to introduce the following representatives of • the Boys and Girls Club: • Paul Casey, CEO • Gene Bailey, Director of Organizational Development, BGCA • Todd Vanderpool, Director of Operations • Shane Sudol, Project Director • Sid Morgan, Facilities Manager • LouAnnVisotcky, Board President • Leo McGuire, Board of Trustees • Rosalind Piazza, Board of Trustees • Thomas Petersen, Board of Trustees