Port Hueneme Evicts Boys & Girls Club and Clears Way for Another

Hundreds of children were left without recreational programs Friday as the city changed the locks and evicted the Boys & Girls Club from its municipally owned facility.

But the East Pleasant Valley Road site may reopen as soon as Thursday, one day after the City Council is expected to approve a lease that will enable the Oxnard Boys & Girls Club to take over the operation.

The action comes after the debt-ridden club subleased the site on weekends--when the club is closed--for activities city officials believe may not have been “wholesome.” The activities included at least one weekend photo shoot of bikini-clad models and prompted the city last month to order the organization to vacate the premises.

The consolidation will also end months of political infighting between the two clubs’ boards that delayed a long-planned merger.

“Personalities, politics aside, this is what’s best for the kids of Port Hueneme and Oxnard,” said Bob Valdez, president of the Port Hueneme club’s board, who plans to remain active with the Oxnard club. “The difference is they’ll be less administration and more hands-on with the kids, which will be much more effective.”

The two clubs have sites less than a mile apart, and many south Oxnard children attend the Port Hueneme club.

The club, which held programs ranging from basketball to a gang tattoo removal, shut down Thursday. The more than 1,100 youths who use the gym, game room and other amenities are aware the facility plans to reopen soon, officials said.

“We are optimistic the club will be open as soon as possible, hopefully by the end of next week,” said Abe Oliveras, executive director of the Oxnard club. “We need to put our egos aside and do what’s best for the children. The longer we take with disagreeing, the longer the kids go with their needs being unmet.”

It is the second time the club has closed its doors in the last 15 months. The city closed the club in September 1995 for two months until needed maintenance was completed.

City workers are again expected to begin minor repairs on the building Monday in time for the club’s reopening.

The transition in administration is also expected to free up $45,000 in grant money the city had withheld because of questions over management. The money will be used for restroom and other repairs that are expected to be finished next summer, Oliveras said.

City staff are recommending the council approve the temporary operating agreement.

“We don’t want to see the club close any longer than would be necessary,” said Tina Esparza, community development director. “We want the kids participating in the program there to not be the losers in this.”

An audit that will be completed today is expected to show the Port Hueneme club has debts of about $25,000 rather than more than $50,000 as previously reported, Oliveras said. Board members have blamed the debt on previous administrations.

The red ink could delay the club’s reopening, although an endowment fund may be tapped to eliminate the debt, Oliveras said. The audit was ordered by the United Way, which provides about $80,000 annually to the Port Hueneme club.

Another potential roadblock is the terms of the lease for the Pleasant Valley Road site.

The photo shoot controversy has prompted the city to seek greater control over weekend events unrelated to children’s activities.

Oliveras said he hopes there will be a degree of flexibility, given the Oxnard club’s track record of responsibly renting out the two city-owned sites it operates. Rentals are an important source of income for the club’s $650,000 budget.

Former professional football player Chuck Muncie, who was blamed for many of the problems, resigned as the Port Hueneme club’s top administrator last week. Although Valdez maintains much of that blame was unfair, the resignation will allow more resources to be concentrated on children.

“It will still be the Port Hueneme Boys & Girls Club, it will just be a different administration,” he said. “[Children] will still have a place to go, they’ll be running the same programs.”