Former Deputy Helps Build Safe Place to Play : Community center: Developer heads project to convert a dilapidated building into an island of learning for children in crime-ravaged Athens.

Robert Irmas could have turned his back on Athens when he left the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department 15 years ago. He could have buried his memories of the working-class families he saw devastated by crime. He could have forgotten what it was like for the children to live amid the violence of the neighborhoods he patrolled.

But Irmas, who lives in upper middle-class Encino, has spearheaded an effort to turn the sheriff’s dilapidated Athens Community Center into an island of learning. He has obtained $500,000, most of it from Time-Warner Inc. and his parents’ charitable foundation, to build facilities and refurbish the center’s existing two-story building.

Construction is expected to be completed before the center’s dedication ceremony April 29, one year after the Los Angeles riots.

Irmas, 41, now a commercial real estate investor, was a rookie deputy at the Lennox sheriff’s station, which serves Athens. He left his patrol car for law school in 1978 and later became a deputy district attorney in Ventura County.

Since last summer, he has spent several hours a day working on the community center project, telephoning contractors, approving architect Russell Shubin’s plans, and negotiating with county officials.

“I cannot rebuild Los Angeles,” Irmas said. “But I can take one little corner of it and make it nice.”

There is a lack of nice, safe places for children to play in this unincorporated area sandwiched between the boundaries of Inglewood, Gardena, Hawthorne and southwest Los Angeles. It has long troubled Lennox sheriff’s officials. In 1987, Lennox deputies began organizing Youth Athletic League games at Helen Keller Park, and later expanded the leagues to three other area parks. The sworn officers had, in essence, taken on roles more common to a parks and recreation department.

“The key thing for us on the law enforcement side is that there is no one else doing this,” said Capt. Jack Scully, commander of the Lennox station. “You can say, ‘Maybe we shouldn’t have deputy sheriffs doing this, maybe they should be out riding around in their cars.’ But (the deputies) are the only ones who can do it. You can’t clear those parks of gang members unless you have a gun on you and the backing of the black and white radio cars who come by.”

Spurred by the success of the athletic leagues, sheriff’s officials persuaded the county in 1989 to cede a vacant county social services office to the Lennox station. Last March, the youth center opened at the site, on Vermont Avenue near 119th Place.

But the facility had a number of maintenance problems, and Irmas was shocked by its poor condition when he toured the center last year.

“I (decided) let’s really do something,” Irmas said. “Let’s not just put up a new roof and slap some paint on this place. Let’s go out and put some money together and really create a program and structure that this community can use for a while to come.”

New facilities will include a 3,000-square-foot, air-conditioned building that can be partitioned into three classrooms. There also will be a new playground, basketball and handball courts, and a 1,000-square-foot restroom facility.

The new center will be named the Audrey and Sydney Irmas Youth Activity Center in honor of Robert Irmas’ parents. Robert manages the charitable foundation established by his parents, who made their money in real estate and business ventures.

Irmas, who was raised in Beverly Hills, describes the center as preventive policing.

“This structure is nothing more than law enforcement,” he said. “You can buy all the locks and guns in the world, but to me the best crime prevention is to take a kid . . . and put him down the right path. You feel real good doing it. I don’t know how good you feel going out and buying a shotgun” to protect yourself.

The center is already staffed full time by four deputies and resident volunteers. The existing building has an arcade, weight room and library. It is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week.

The deputies say they literally have to force younger children to leave the center before dark.

“We don’t want to be responsible for them walking the streets in the dark ‘cause it’s rough out there and anything could happen,” Deputy Glen Mayer said. “We have to chase (the kids) out, literally. They’re ducking in corners, hiding under the stairs, anywhere so we won’t put them out. Sometimes, what they’re going home to may not be too much better than what’s out on the streets.”

Athens resident Ruby Johnson, a volunteer at the center, said the facility has been a godsend to the community.

“It’s a place where I can say people feel real safe being here,” Johnson said. “Kids (are) learning how to respect law enforcement. They see these people as real people. Some of these deputies have formed a big brother relationship with these boys and given them a father image. Some of these kids don’t have a father image.”

There are about 30,000 residents in the Athens area. Last year, there were 1,300 felony assaults in the community, Capt. Scully said.

“That figures out to 1 out of every 30 people that live in this community was the victim of a felony assault,” Scully said. “That’s amazing. This is one of the few communities where there are more felony assaults than burglaries. You go to wherever you live, you’ll find a ratio of 5-to-1 burglaries to felony assaults.”

Such statistics are not lost on Irmas, who patrolled Athens for two years.

“I met some of the greatest people you ever want to meet in this area; I met some of the worst people you ever want to meet,” he said.

Irmas was particularly struck by the warmth expressed to him and other deputies patrolling Helen Keller Park on a Fourth of July.

“I must have had 30 invitations to sit down and join families for their Fourth of July dinner,” Irmas said. “You always hear about the tensions between police and residents of South-Central . . . The fact of the matter is that the people who work in this area, who work very hard, have what they have by . . . the sweat of their brow. They’re the ones that want police protection and are very positive toward law enforcement.”