VINCENNES - Much of Monday's Vincennes City Council meeting was a discussion about The Vincennes Teen Center, located in the Old Town Players building, and its funding for future years to come.
Jamie Dugan, community coordinator, told the council that when she was hired in 2022 to help plan the HELP programs, a study was done and found the creation of a teen center was a main focus, alongside transportation, beautification of the city and more.
With $100,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding and a $75,000 grant applied through the HELP program after meeting ARPA requirements, those monies were budgeted for the creation of the Teen Center and sustainability costs.
Council members Marc McNeece and Brian Grove, who also sit on the budget finance committee, expressed concerns for the sustainability of the program with the uncertainty of future funding, and said the rent for the center was never discussed in the beginning as a sustainability cost.
Dugan said that rent was a part of the programming, where a space is needed to host the center.
Of the combined $175,000 budgeted for the Teen Center, there was approximately $20,000 between the two funds left before a $12,000 claim for rent was paid. There was approximately $11,000 in ARPA funds, and $9,000 in the other grant.
“We were excited to see it come to fruition. But, you know, sustainability is the question we have on all of our projects with the ARPA funds,” Grove said. “So this one was one of the first that ran out of money, and we needed to move the grant that they had gotten into a different fund…”
McNeece said he believes some of the hang up of the situation is coming from accounting procedures when it comes to grants, further explaining that those dollars have to be spent in certain ways and require documentation on what it is spent on, which also falls under the watch of city Clerk-Treasurer Kathy Lane.
Lane said that in her opinion, a better understanding was needed of how the center would be paid for from the beginning — “because to start moving stuff around in the funds looks sloppy… I would have preferred we have a clearer way for this to work.”
Presently, there's no formal lease or agreement between the center and the city.
Mayor Joe Yochum said a memorandum of understanding can be drafted in the near future, as soon as legal counsel returns from out of town.
McNeece also said during the conversation that some of the uncertainty of sustainability comes from the state legislature that is looking at heavy cuts to taxes, and if those cuts are made, the city and county will see the impact, on services from the police department, streets department, parks and more.
Dugan agreed that the city may be looking at heavy cuts, and said federal changes with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) combing through funds, some of those opportunities that states to apply for, typically in April, may be delayed until this fall, which further delays local funding.
Another item discussed along future rent costs for the Teen Center in the Old Town Players building was insurance; while Old Town Players have insurance on the building, the question was raised if added coverage was needed for the center.
Dugan said every teen and their parents must sign a hold-harmless agreement in order to participate in the program.
Dugan added that despite her job with the city ending April 1, she will continue to look for grants at the local and state level, and also private foundation funding for the center in the future.
Dugan said that since the start of the Teen Center and adding representatives from Grasshopper Group (a mental health services in Vincennes), a report showed a 10.16% decrease in teens going to the ER for mental health suicide attempts in the last year.
“I hope the program can continue, and it was obviously the priority of the community,” Dugan said. “It was the number one priority of the health and wellness data that we worked on a year to tabulate. So it would be a shame if it didn't continue,” she said.
Grove and McNeece clarified that they weren’t denying the success of the Teen Center and they believe it is an important asset for the benefit of teens in the community — but are concerned with funding in the future and how sustainable the program will be.
“No doubt, the Teen Center is useful and needed. It comes down to how the entities can pay for it going forward,” McNeece said.
After the lengthy discussion, the board approved the claims payment of $12,000 for this year’s rent of the Teen Center, along with other claims for the evening.
The next city council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 14 in City Hall.