A proposed $1 million investment to expand after-school youth programs into city-owned facilities is sparking a debate over transparency and funding for Laurel-based nonprofits.
During a June 22 City Council meeting, council members, residents and representatives from the Laurel Boys & Girls Club sought answers from Laurel Mayor Keith Sydnor about the proposal, which would allow the national Boys & Girls Clubs of America to operate a free after-school program inside one of the city’s three community centers.
The national organization would pay $1 per year under a proposed 15-year agreement. The approximately $1 million in state funding would not pay for the program itself but instead would fund renovations to the Laurel Armory–Anderson & Murphy Community Center, where the program would be housed.
“This is something that’s going to benefit our city, that’s going to get invested in our program,” Sydnor said during the meeting. “The parents who can’t afford daycare, who can’t afford child care can have something to benefit their kids.”
But leaders of the Laurel Boys & Girls Club, which is not affiliated with the national organization, pushed back, accusing the city of favoring an outside nonprofit over the Laurel-based club, which has served local youth since 1965.
“If you can give [the national club] a million dollars to operate, and you can’t give the [Laurel] Boys and Girls Club one dollar, there’s something wrong with that picture,” said Wilbert Nicholson, president of the Laurel Boys & Girls Club. “How can we win in this situation? … We should have benefited from some funding toward our institution.”
Nicholson said the Laurel club currently serves about 400 youth through sports, mentoring and after-school programs. Its building, constructed in 1899 as the first high school in Prince George’s County, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Nicholson said the building now requires significant repairs.
“We’ve done some renovations. We haven’t done the full thing because that roof costs almost a million dollars,” he said.
Residents also questioned why the community had not been notified about the proposal before it advanced and how the Armory would accommodate both the after-school program and existing programs for adults and senior citizens.
“We’ve been hearing just through the grapevine that something was happening that we haven’t been able to really get any answers from normal points of contact,” said resident Scott Lilienthal, who uses the Armory’s exercise room with his wife.
“If there’s a process, will there be opportunities for the users to weigh in and at least get our thoughts out as well?” he asked the council.
Other residents questioned why there was no publicly available request for proposals.
“Again, when I hear a dollar-a-year rent for 15 years, I think, ‘Huh, we just need to know a little more about that,’” said Jennifer Laskin of West Laurel. “Why not put it out to a community proposal? … Why not open it up to the public?”
During the meeting, Sydnor repeatedly defended the proposal as an administrative decision that did not require City Council approval, saying the proposed partnership falls within the authority of the mayor and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.
“ … and I stand by [the proposal],” he said.
It is not clear when, or if, the proposal will move forward. Calls to the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation seeking additional comment were not immediately returned.