FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Building of Club Is Finally Underway

It’s been a vision for nearly a decade--a dream supporters never gave up on.

Last week, workers finally began construction on the new home of the Boys & Girls Club of Huntington Valley.

“It’s like an elephant giving birth--it’s been a long gestation period,” said Mayor John Collins. “It will be fulfilling when we see the first kid go in and bounce a basketball.”

Groundbreaking on the nearly two-acre site in Mile Square Regional Park took place three years ago, but then work was halted because of unexpected work to stabilize the ground. That added $250,000 to the cost of the project.

Chris Schneider, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club, which operates the clubs in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, said that about $1.2 million has been raised toward the $1.7-million cost of the new facility. About $500,000 more is needed to finish the interior of the 19,000-square-foot building, he said.

The club currently operates out of vacant Arthur D. Neiblas School and has about 400 members.

Fund raising has been a major undertaking. Collins has called Friday night bingo games for the last 8 1/2 years to support the goal, raising about $200,000.

Councilman George B. Scott is among those who have spearheaded fund-raising efforts.

“I can’t wait” for the project to be done, said Scott, 62, one of the club’s founding board members. “I just want to live long enough to see this Boys & Girls club up in operation.”

Schneider hopes that the sound of construction will bring forth contributions.

“Our hope is that once the community sees that the project is going to succeed, we’ll generate the balance needed before year’s end so we can continue with the last phase,” Schneider said. “Our goal is to open by spring if the money comes in.

“This has been a long struggle. But the end of the road is definitely in sight.”