Thursday, October 14, 1999 Older Editions

Youth center unveiled

By Neil Fater

For decades, Andover teens have dreamed of having a youth center. Now, that dream could turn into reality, if the town decides to pursue a lease agreement with Merrimack College and Sport Court, a private company.

Until that decision is made, teens can dream specifically of having a two-story youth center with a hall for concerts and dances, an artificial putting green and a basketball court. They can dream of having a center with a full-size artificial-turf sports field in back, covered when needed by a retractable, inflatable dome so kids could play "outside" all year long.

And they can start dreaming today, because that's the type of offer on the table from Merrimack College and Sport Court.

Sport Court proposes construction of a building and artificial sport fields on Merrimack land near the YMCA. If Andover is interested in leasing a building and some land, Sport Court would build a bigger building to provide the town's Youth Services department with a full-fledged youth complex.

Selectman Brian Major has discussed this idea for months with Merrimack president Richard Santagati and Andover resident Jim Arnold of Sport Court.

"At least let's investigate this to see if it makes sense for the town of Andover," says Major. "Merrimack and Sport Court would create the whole place, and we would lease space from them, both outdoor and building space."

Major says because Youth Services Director Bill Fahey has been involved with a number of programs, he has not yet been involved in the discussions about this proposal.

"Apparently, it's been reviewed in an interdepartmental meeting and it's thought to have some potential," says Fahey. "At the same time, there's a group that (Selectman) Larry (Larsen) is supporting that wants to build a youth center on town land.

"We want to have the best center across the board for kids interested in everything from music to arts. Not just sports," says Fahey. "I'm excited about the opportunity, but I want to make sure the road we followed in '95 isn't the road we follow again."

In 1995, a Town Meeting vote to build a youth center with the private Shawsheen Extended Day program failed to garner the necessary two-thirds majority by 68 votes.

Proposal

Major and Arnold say this current proposal has something for, and demands something from, all three parties.

Merrimack will provide the land, Sport Court will provide the facilities, and the town would then have to decide if it will lease building and land for a youth center.

Merrimack needs the facility for its varsity sports teams to use for practice, because its existing fields are being torn up by the constant wear of cleats. Sports Court wants to have a working showroom, and a place it can rent for profit.

"It's an expensive undertaking," says Arnold. "It's not going to be the Superdome, but it's going to be a pretty neat place, if we can get it up.

Arnold says college athletes and youth groups would use the fields at different times.

"The Merrimack varsity athletes would use it during the morning and afternoons, and the town would have it at nights and on the weekends," says Arnold.

He says the fields would still be available for town sports leagues, whose leaders frequently complain about a lack of space in town, regardless of whether the town wants a youth center.

"Andover soccer alone could conceivably book the place solid if they chose to," says Arnold.

During the winter, the field would be covered by an inflatable dome like the ones the National Football League's Patriots, Jets and Steelers use to cover their practice facilities, he says.

As for the building, if Andover gets involved, Major and Arnold say an approximately 40,000 square foot building would be constructed, with about 75 percent of the building designated for a youth center. The rest of the building would be administration and storage space for Sport Court or Merrimack.

Major suggests having a warrant article and schematic plans ready for the April 2000 Town Meeting.

He says a complete design for the facility could take some time, because the site is dotted with wetlands, but he would hope to see a sport court by next fall, and a building by 2001.

He likes the idea of leasing the facility for some time (Arnold mentions 20 years), rather than taking a large one-year hit to build a center. "In that light, it's very similar to the senior-center concept," says Major.

But Major's proposal will receive resistance from some selectmen for the same reasons the senior center lease passed by only a 3-2 vote.

But Arnold says, "To me, it makes great sense. What are you waiting for? If we continue to hem and haw over providing alternative recreation, then inevitably there are going to be headaches (with kids getting into trouble).

"What are we going to do? Wait five years to develop a parcel in West Andover? What happens to the middle-school and high-school kids now?"

Major, who is running for reelection this year, plans to present a rough version of the project to selectmen Monday, Oct. 18.

Informed of this by the Townsman, Larry Larsen criticized Town Manager Buzz Stapczynski for not keeping him informed of that proposal, and remained in support of building a center on town-owned land.

"We have a group of people who feel they can raise the money to build a youth center on town-owned land, if they can expand it later to a community center," says Larsen. "I think I'll go put my proposal on the agenda, because I want to see it discussed in full.

"The issue of a youth center has nothing to do with a sport facility. Being near a sport facility would be helpful," he says.

Larsen, who is not running for reelection, also says pointedly "I hate to see the youth center politicized."

Major says he's not worried about the Andover youth center also being part of a sports-court business.

"I'm not necessarily concerned about that, because I think our departments would set up the right constraints," he says. "I'm not concerned there would be a negativity associated with it. In fact, I get excited by a public-private partnership to help solve a community need.

Fahey says he hopes those issues can be clarified in coming months.