Building’s Decay Could KO Youth Club : Boxing: Supporters of La Colonia center fear that it will be closed if the city of Oxnard cannot find money for repairs, expected to cost $325,000.

La Colonia Youth Boxing Center, which narrowly escaped closure last year because of Oxnard municipal budget problems, is once again fighting for its survival.

This time the threat comes from an unstable roof and numerous other building deficiencies that require about $325,000 in repairs and modifications. The aging stucco building is used by about 50 boys a day.

Although there is no deadline for the repairs and city officials said temporary braces can be used to shore up the roof, supporters fear that the center at 520 East 1st St. will be closed if the financially beleaguered city cannot find money to make the repairs.

Members of a nonprofit corporation that was recently formed to keep the center operating said they have begun to lobby city officials to seek state and federal grants to pay for the repairs.

“Park and recreation programs like this are usually the first to get axed,” said Fred Block, owner of an Oxnard air freshener company and member of newly formed La Colonia Youth Boxing Assn.

The white, single-story facility is owned and funded by the city, but also relies on donations and money raised at monthly boxing shows at the Oxnard Elks Lodge.

Parks and Recreation Director Gary Davis said he is sure the City Council will agree to apply for the grants when the matter is considered later this month. But he is uncertain whether state and federal officials will approve the applications.

“It’s a major capital improvements project,” he said. “Whether it will be successful I don’t know, but we are going to try.”

Block and other members of the association--including police officers, doctors and lawyers--say the gym is vital because it keeps boys off the streets and teaches them discipline, hard work and dedication.

On any given day, the gym is alive with the sounds and smells of sweaty youths beating on punching bags, skipping rope, shadowboxing and sparring with one another.

Last month, the center boasted four state champions when Robert Garcia, 15; Danny Perez, 13; Saul Martinez, 13, and Rolando Reyes, 11, each won state Silver Gloves boxing titles at a tournament in Sacramento.

No other gym in the state produced four winners at the tournament, Block said.

The center is run by Martin Noriega, who said he fears that his boxers may become “homeless champions.”

If the grants are approved, Noriega said he would like to expand the center to serve more youths in the community.

The gym is so popular with boys in the mostly Latino neighborhood that Noriega said he used to have to turn away boxing hopefuls. Now, he shortens workout times to allow more children to participate. Those who do pay $3 a month.

In June, the gym was removed from a list of proposed cuts after several Latino parents urged the City Council to spare the center, which receives about $50,000 a year in city funds.

The building deficiencies were discovered during a routine maintenance check by city workers.

Building officials said code violations at the gym include improper wiring and poor ventilation. The most serious problem is the roof, which was left with little support when previous owners removed several partitions within the cement-block building.

In addition, the building does not provide proper access or bathrooms for the handicapped as required by state law, according to city officials.

Building official George Pope said that there is no deadline for the repairs to be completed, and that the city does not plan to close the gym in the meantime.

If the money is approved, Davis said the city could add showers, lockers and other improvements.

“It’s an old, old facility and it’s been used over and over for different uses,” Davis said. “Basically what we want to do is rebuild the facility.”

Kyle Stewart, a financial analyst for the city, said the city will probably apply to the state for $97,500 in community development grants and to the federal government for $227,500 under a federal urban recreation improvement program.

“I can’t think of anything that qualifies better than the youth boxing center,” Davis said.

Even if state and federal officials approve the grants, Block and Noriega said the center will continue to struggle to find the money to take the boys to boxing tournaments.

Last year, four of the gym’s top boxers were forced to cancel plans to attend a tournament in Los Angeles because Noriega was recovering from back surgery and was unable to drive the team to the matches.

Block said the nonprofit organization has been successful at getting the moral support of several business owners but has yet to turn that into a source of steady income.

“We are not professional fund-raisers,” Noriega said.

La Colonia Youth Boxing Assn. has raised enough money to promote several boxing exhibitions in Oxnard but has raised only $100 for boxers’ travel expenses, Block said.

“What we’d like to see is every business (in Oxnard) donate $40 a year,” he said. “That would cover our travel and fight expenses.”