By JONAH LOSSIAH
One Feather Staff
Construction for the new Cherokee Youth Center is on schedule with a ribbon cutting in less than three months.
A look at the top of the main stairs in the lobby of the Cherokee Youth Center. This area will also feature a slide from the second floor. (JONAH LOSSIAH/One Feather photos)
Chris Greene, manager of EBCI Project Management, said there have been few interruptions over the last year. They are pushing through the final stages, especially with the outside amenities at the facility. Greene said that the project is also currently on budget. That budget was set at 19.2 million dollars by Tribal Council, with 16 million of that being for the actual construction costs. The team is hopeful that they will be able to implement additional features thanks to the limited number of setbacks.
There will be a small amphitheater behind the building and playground areas with padded artificial turf up front. The rooms for all the younger ages will have a different colored theme to them. It is a two-story building that is fully designed for youth services.
Matt Hollifield, manager of the Cherokee Youth Center, said that this facility will help the community and the education department in so many ways. First and foremost, he feels the additional space will mean no more waitlist.
“We hope to wipe out the waiting list completely. Younger kids are usually the most in need. We hope we’ve met that and more. As they get older, we’re hoping they’re going to stay in this new facility. The better the services we offer the longer they’ll stay, hopefully,” said Hollifield.
He said that a lot of thought when into the look of the building, both inside and outside. Primarily, the focus was to create a space that the children of Cherokee are excited to visit.
“We did not want it to look like a school. We didn’t want the kids to get off the bus from one school to go into another. We wanted to make it fun. We serve four different school systems, so we couldn’t do maroon or one certain color on everything. We tried to make it neutral and fun when they come in,” said Hollifield.
Renissa McLaughlin, director of EBCI Education, said that this project will allow them to look into the diversified services that they have always wanted to offer.
“It’s not a daycare. I think that was one of the comments that was made when we were adding the gym to this building is that ‘we don’t need to build another recreation center.’ The Youth Center is under Education for a reason. They have a long list of prescribed services that is grant-funded that these staff members give to the kids. During COVID when all schools were shut down, the Youth Center staffed for teachers. That’s not their trained profession, but we were filling the roles.”
A small amphitheater is placed behind the Youth Center.
She also said that it was essential to cultivate a space that was exciting for everybody. The upper floor is designated for teen and high school students. They plan to have pool tables, games, kitchen space, and anything they feel will make it a well-rounded experience.
“Increase, hopefully, the teen population numbers. They get to a certain age and then they drop off. Hopefully, that will reinvigorate the youth to use the Youth Center and not see it as just a place for little kids, but all age groups all the way up through high school. It’s really important for our teens to have a place to go.”
McLaughlin said that she wants to fill up the space as quickly as possible. She feels this project has been needed for a long time. The previous Youth Center building was a struggle to maintain. She said the final straw was the need for a new roof, which would have cost $500,000.
This large multipurpose room will be used for athletics and extracurriculars for all ages.
“It was just another Band-Aid on a building that was never really intended for it to be a long-term solution for school-age child care,” said McLaughlin. “The Youth Center keeps over 115 people on the wait list. For example, if you show up whenever kindergarten’s getting ready to enroll, people are out there before the Center opens lined up waiting to get in. We know that the needs of the community are not being met. This is how we met the needs of the community, by building a new facility. Because it was just long overdue. It was a waste of the Tribe’s money to continue to patch things.”
A ribbon cutting is expected to take place at the end of April, but the finalized date is not quite set.
There will be a two-week transitional phase following the completion of construction. This is to allow the time to train their workers on the ins and outs of the new facility. The Cherokee Youth Center will then shift their current students over to the new building.
McLaughlin said they are already accepting applications for the Fall, and new families can sign up at https://www.cherokeeyouthcenter.com/.
