CYPRESS : City to Take Control of Boys, Girls Club

At the urging of the board of directors, the City Council this week agreed to take control of the Cypress Boys and Girls Club for the summer.

At a special meeting Monday, the council unanimously agreed to run the club for 12 weeks through the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. At the end of August, the club’s board of directors will decide whether to continue with the city.

The action comes less than a week after executive director Ray Thomson quit, prompting the board to suspend all but two of the remaining employees. Their fate is still up in the air and is expected to be decided at a meeting next week.

Some board members argued that the move to suspend the employees and turn over the operation to the city was part of a restructuring effort to help improve the club. Others fear it could mean its demise.

“Our objective is to make this club bigger and better than ever,” said Don Kennedy, newly elected president. “We are not closing the club, we are trying to make it thrive.”

The free summer program for children ages 7 to 17 will be operated by the Parks and Recreation Department and will include sports, crafts and field trips. It will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. five days a week.

The clubhouse on Moody Street will also be used for other city recreation activities that have been edged out of other facilities because of a lack of space.

The department will provide some of the staffing, said Marvin DeCarlo, director of parks and recreation. DeCarlo said city officials are not sure if taking over the club will cost the city more money than is already allocated for summer kids programs. However, the council did allocate $6,000 to help defray costs for the Boys and Girls Club during the takeover.

During the 12 weeks, the board of directors is going to examine the club’s operation as part of the restructuring effort. About 1,000 children a year use the Boys and Girls Club, which has been operating in Cypress for more than 20 years.