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A Crowley police officer will present the requirements for transforming the old police department into a youth activity center at the next Crime Control and Prevention District meeting.
Crowley Mayor Billy Davis, a board member of CCPD, said the city has approved plans for a future youth center but a location has not been finalized.
The youth center is expected to provide a wide range of activities with a skate park, bike park, basketball court, computer lab, weight room, pool tables and a community learning center, where gang awareness, first offender, safety and health programs will also operate.
The old police building at 201 South Texas was originally believed to be the best location for a future youth center, but the condition of the building in March, after officers moved to the new Mike Carpenter Memorial Justice Center, was less than favorable, Davis said.
Sandra Wanzor, a community-oriented officer of the Crowley Police Department, said she is preparing a PowerPoint presentation for the CCPD board that provides photos of the old department and estimates for repairs.
The presentation will have “pictures of each room to show them what I want it to be used for,” Wanzor said.
The building was damaged during an auction that occurred soon after the department moved, she said. Every few years officers auction off old cars, but Wanzor said people ripped electrical appliances out of walls during the last auction, which damaged the building’s electrical wiring.
“I really have a positive feeling about this, and it will be on the agenda next month,” Wanzor said. “I’ve got from now till then to get bids on repairs.”
Davis said the board has discussed incorporating the youth center into plans for the future community recreation center to be built next to the library. The city’s capital improvement committee has not yet finalized plans for the adult recreation center, he said.
“The city manager says we may be better off selling the old police department building and putting the youth center in conjunction with other plans,” he said. “Sandra really wants to change it into a youth center, and that’s good if it’s feasible and economical to do that, but her main reason is she wants to do it right now.”
In October, Wanzor told the board that the city “can lose a lot of kids in two years.” She said she wants a safe, fun and positive place for youth to come to after school. Wanzor and other officers will manage the youth center, which will primarily be geared toward elementary and middle school children, she said.
The goal of the youth center is to instill positive and healthy lifestyles in children and steer them from trouble at an early age, Wanzor said.
“If we don’t use the old building, we better have a good reason why we didn’t,” Davis said. “And that reason would only be if it was not economically feasible. “
Davis said the possibility for a BMX facility at the youth center remains regardless of its final location. He said he was in favor of the skate and bike parks and said city officials have been looking at those in other cities for guidance.
“Corsicana has one we’ve looked at, and theirs is pretty successful,” he said.
Attempts to contact Deborah Emerson, CCPD secretary, to learn the date of the next meeting were unsuccessful.
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