IRVINE : New Youth Activities Planned by City

The city hopes to offer new youth activities by October, six months after the idea was recommended by the Safe Community Task Force as a way of reducing violence among the city’s teen-agers.

Though the scope and size of the after-school programs has yet to be determined, city officials said the activities will be run by local nonprofit organizations and will cost about $85,000.

The city’s Community Services Commission is now formulating general goals and guidelines for the programs. Once that is done, city officials will solicit bids from agencies interested in providing the programs.

The city hopes to have the programs and their providers selected by October, said Marsha Burgess, the community services superintendent.

Increasing the number of youth activities was one of more than 50 recommendations made by the Safe Community Task Force, an ad-hoc committee made up of city and school district officials, residents and business people.

Last month, the City Council allocated $85,000 to begin implementing some of the recommendations.

Burgess said she expects the funds to be used for one or two large programs rather than “spreading (the money) too thinly.”

The cost of each program will depend on the amount of staffing required and number of youths served, she said.