Council OK’s plan for teen center funding

The Lodi City Council approved the 2017/2018 draft action plan for the community development block grant program during its meeting Wednesday night. The decision was made despite concerns from the public about the One Eighty Teen Center receiving CDBG funding due to it being a faith based organization and its relationship with First Baptist Church.

The plan maps out where the funding is going and what it will be used for. The One Eighty teen is one of five community based organizations set to receive funding in the in action plan. If the final action plan is approved the One Eighty Teen Center is expected to receive $78,900 for accessibility, safety and facade improvements.

During the meeting, Neighborhood Services Manager Joseph Wood addressed concerns from the public. According to Wood, faith-based organizations are no longer required to form a separate secular organization to receive Housing and Urban Development funds for real property as they were under HUD’s former regulations.

However, Wood said an organization that engages in explicitly religious activities must allocate its cost so that HUD funds are used only for eligible HUD activities. HUD funds may not be used to acquire or improve principal places of worship.

Wood said to determined the proper cost allocation, they tacked the worship and faith based activities conducted by the One Eighty Teen Center. The center is available for use up to 16 hours a day seven days a week with explicitly religious activities at the center amounting to 22 hours a week and only making up 20 percent of the total hours the facility is available, Wood said.

The cost of the center’s project is $96,400. Wood said based upon the cost allocation of 80 percent the city is able allocate $77,120 in CDBG funding towards their project along with $1,780 to cover project delivery cost for project oversight and labor standards compliance. The allocation will be reflected in a sub-recipient agreement.

The center will be monitored for a period of five years to confirm that explicitly religious activities do not exceed 20 percent and at least 51 percent of the clientele that uses the facility qualify as CDBG eligible through income or residency in CDBG target areas. Based upon compliance of the conditions one fifth of the allocated funding amount shall be forgiven each year during that five year period.

In a letter to council One Eighty Teen Center Executive Director Alison McGregor who was unable to attend the meeting explained the center’s relationship with First Baptist Church and the services the center provides for the community. She confirmed that First Baptist Church was the parent organization of the center and it still owned the buildings and property and the center is under their insurance. However, the decision to stay on the church’s insurance was a financial one.

“It would have been expensive and difficult to find insurance which covered a skatepark , and now adventure camping trips and remote work through the mobile unit,” she said. “To stay under the umbrella of the FBC’s insurance makes far more sense from a cost-savings stand point.”

Other than the church owning the property and paying the insurance, the center raises 100 percent of its own funding and covers all of its own expenses. McGregor said they operate independently from the church and have their own separate board of directors. She said the center provides a place, activities and mentoring for teenagers and all are welcome regardless of race, religion, social status, sexual orientation or lifestyle.

Several spoke against the center receiving funding during public comment.

“I realize you may not share my concern for the separation of church and state but I hope that I can persuade you that by moving forward we are risking financial damage to the city and all of the nonprofits served by these grants, “Lodi resident David Disken said. “If it triggers an audit several years of funding will be part of that audit and several years of grants may be in jeopardy.”

Lodi resident Julie Jenson was concerned about how children from other religious backgrounds and with different sexual orientations would be received by the center. She also expressed concern that the mentors at the center may influence their own religion on the children. She shared her experience visiting the center with council.

“I left with very clear understanding that the One Eighty Teen Center exist primarily as an indoctrination center for local youth,” she said. “There is nothing secular about youth programs at the One Eighty.”

Spencer Dayton said he was a devout Catholic, but was against the center receiving funding because he didn’t feel like their services were secular or that they include everyone regardless of religious background or sexual orientation.

Steve Newman Pastor of First Baptist Church took a moment to explain the church’s relationship with the center. Like McGregor he said the decision to keep the center on the insurance was to save money and that they are completely independent from the church.