From Brian Lockhart, CT Post:
The city is hoping Bridgeport native Blagys and his nonprofit Wakeman Boys & Girls Club, which is based in Fairfield with locations at 2414 Fairfield Ave. in Bridgeport and within Fairfield’s McKinley’s Elementary School, will establish Wakeman’s respected brand at the North End club.
Wakeman provides after-school activities for about 4,000 kids, mostly third-graders through high school seniors.
The organization was chosen in January by the city’s Parks Commission to restore and operate the Madison Avenue facility, and is now trying to finalize plans and financing for review by the Bridgeport City Council and Wakeman’s board of trustees this fall.
“They’ve done a phenomenal job over there (on Fairfield Avenue) and we’d love to have that kind of a facility on our side of town,” said City Council President Thomas McCarthy, D-133.
Full story here.
The City spent $980,000 for a teardown because they did not get to do an inspection? What was the valuation at the Assessor’s Office? Where are City funds coming from and where has such a necessary facility been planned and budgeted for City Council review and approval in the past? Do the activities of Wakeman/Burroughs serving 4200 youth according to a recent conversation with Dave Blagys, represent very similar activities provided by the Bridgeport Youth Department called Lighthouse that serves 2800 youth in the City?
Comments from our top elected City officials on costs and benefits are always interesting because they rarely disclose all the financial details yet are always upbeat!!! Isn’t it great to work with other people’s money?
“In an interview at the time of the sale, Finch acknowledged, “You just can’t predict these things, especially once you start opening walls in old buildings; you never know what you’re going to find.”
McCarthy said the expense was worth it.”
When you go poking around in City fiscal matters it’s like “opening walls in old building; you never know what you’re going to find.” How right the mayor is in his description. So the City bought a property that will be demolished and taxpayers have a building lot costing nearly $1 Million as the price of bringing said property under City control? And McCarthy looking at the entire deal says “the expense was worth it?” Perhaps the expense per youth served by Wakeman’s prestigious urban and suburban programs should be compared to the City Lighthouse program that has not shared its entire revenue structure with Bridgeport taxpayers. Maybe Lighthouse has some surplus dollars after an efficiency study that may help the new project become sustainable. Time will tell.
John Marshall Lee, I just don’t know what to say, one would think a much better job of inspecting could had been done to the building. I truly believe in the Boys Clubs, they kept my brothers and myself out of trouble as kids but something here doesn’t seem right.