The Sammamish City Council’s long awaited decision last year to purchase the old Sammamish Library building to allow it to be converted into recreation center was hailed as a temporary solution to what is becoming a serious problem on the Plateau – a lack of community recreation facilities.

Though the building will remain under the ownership of the city, the Redmond/Sammamish Boys and Girls Club, part of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, will fit and operate the center.

The city purchased the building from the King County Library Service in Sept. 2009, for about $3.4 million.

Currently operating out of a temporary building on 208th Ave NE in Redmond, the Boys and Girls Club has raised more than $1 million dollars to contribute toward turning the library into a recreation facility with a focus on teens.

As they work toward a partnership agreement on the old library, situated on the corner of 228th Avenue NE and Inglewood Hill Road, the City of Sammamish and the Boys and Girls Club are holding two public meetings next month to gather information from residents.

The public input will help guide the creation of programs at the recreation center, and influence the remodeling of the old library.

In addition to adapting the interior of the existing building, the proposed partnership calls for the Boys and Girls Club to fund and construct a new, attached gymnasium.

The city’s primary contribution to the partnership would be the leasing of the building to the Boys and Girls Club.

The meetings:

Monday, March 8, 6:30 – 8 p.m.

Inglewood Junior High School

24120 N.E. Eighth St.

Thursday, March 11, 6:30 – 8 p.m.

Sammamish City Hall

801 228th Ave. S.E.

“This has the makings of a great partnership,” City Manager Ben Yazici said. “We’re looking forward to opening up this facility in the summer of next year.”

According to Parks Director Jessi Richardson, the center will focus primarily on serving teens when they’re not in the classroom. But toddlers, adults and seniors will also have programs, mostly when students are in school.

“We really want to hear from people of all ages during these meetings and our other public outreach efforts,” Richardson said. “We definitely have to grasp the community’s vision.”

The Boys and Girls Club is already working on conceptual drawings for the facility. After sifting through the public input, and finalizing a lease/operating agreement with the city, the club will create specific designs and begin the permitting process. Construction could begin as early as August or September.

For more information on the Redmond/Sammamish Boys and Girls Club, contact Executive Director Jane Ronngren, at jronngren@positiveplace.org., or 425-836-9295.