A New Hang-Out

FOUNTAIN VALLEY —  Sally Blotzer, 7, wasn’t even born when volunteers began planning the Boys and Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley’s Kingston Branch at Mile Square Regional Park 13 years ago, but she greeted its grand opening Saturday with a perfect rendition of the national anthem.

Her sweet voice didn’t crack in front of an auditorium of club supporters, business leaders, members of Congress, state legislators and the Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach city councils.

No big deal, really. After singing, Sally quietly joined other children in one of the center’s play rooms while the grown-ups participated in the long-awaited building dedication.

“I like it because it’s just fun,” she said of the center for kindergartners to teens. “There’s lots of kids, and there’s lots to do.”

The new stone-and-glass center--trimmed in the clubs’ trademark blue--features a specially surfaced gymnasium adaptable to roller hockey, basketball, volleyball and soccer. Amenities include a computer center, game rooms, a playground and, of course, Mile Square Regional Park. It’s all to keep youngsters active while their parents are at work.

“Kids who are bored with nothing to do are prime candidates for mischief or finding trouble,” said Fountain Valley Mayor John J. Collins, who serves on a planning committee for the club. “In today’s society, all kids are at risk.”

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Collins and others, who set out to build the club in 1984 when the Fountain Valley Boys Club on Brookhurst Street shut down and moved to temporary sites at area schools, had no idea it would take so long. But one thing kept supporters pressing on: demand for youth programs.

“We had kids we couldn’t take care of, even back then,” Collins said.

The $2.2 million it took to build the 18,800-square-foot center was generated by more than a decade of smoky bingo games, corporate and private gifts, government and foundation grants.

In the 1980s, the City Council offered a free 25-year sublease for the Mile Square Regional Park land and donations came in steadily.

Then there were numerous setbacks.

Gifts declined in the early 1990s when the economy soured. Supporters, however, refused to borrow money.

“We could have opened it six or eight years ago--with a mortgage,” said Tanya Grimes, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley. “But [we] were committed to opening it without debt.”

Volunteers also were gathering funds to build another Boys and Girls Club in nearby Huntington Beach at the same time and donors weren’t always able to support both projects.

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Then a statewide smoking ban in public areas killed bingo, a key fund-raiser on local school district property that had brought in $350,000 for the Fountain Valley club. Supporters tried to continue the games but bingo players lost interest when they were told not to light up.

“You can’t have bingo without smoking,” Collins said.

Construction delays and unexpected costs also held the opening back. The soil at the park was softer than expected and structural pilings slipped into the earth one night a few years ago, requiring new designs and more money to fix the problems.

But corporate donations came at just the right time.

Fountain Valley-based Kingston Technology Corp., known for giving employees millions of dollars in unexpected bonuses, donated $590,000--enough to restart the construction that had been delayed by the lost pilings.

“Those were the finances that provided us with the ability to complete the building,” said Rick Cochrane, branch director. “They stepped up to the plate and came through. We’re very thankful and named the branch after them.”

The county also provided $300,000. In gratitude, an interior street in front of the club was named Stanton Way for former county supervisor and Fountain Valley resident Roger R. Stanton.

Everything finally came together Saturday with the gala attended by longtime backers.

“I call this a building, but it’s really more than that--it’s a cause,” said Dave Barr, president of the clubs’ board of directors. “It’s a revitalized commitment to the children and young adults in this community.”

Dustin Scott, 7, said he likes the club “because it’s cool and stuff. They have [toy] cars that make sounds. I am glad mommy and daddy are going to sign me up.”

Dustin and up to 250 children a day are expected to use the center at 16582 Brookhurst St. Regular hours, 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., begin June 16. Membership, open to all schoolchildren, is $15 a year. The center also offers transportation to and from school for $30 a week. Summer fees are $60 a week for all-day supervision.

Information: (714) 964-4526.