City, Ausherman foundation to work together on youth center
The city of Frederick and the Ausherman Family Foundation are working together to create a center in the city for young people to get access to services.
The facility would create a space for a wide variety of programs and services working with young people and families, including behavioral health and other other services, Ramenta Cottrell, director of the city's Department of Housing and Human Services, said.
The programs at the site will focus on young people ages 14 to 24, and look for ways to increase collaboration between different organizations and streamline services, Cottrell told the mayor and aldermen at a meeting Thursday.
The center will help provide training in areas such as life skills, education services, food security, workforce development, social activities, and physical wellness, she said.
She said the building's location near the Boys and Girls Club of Frederick County, the Mental Health Association of Frederick County, and McCurdy Field along Frederick's Jefferson Street corridor makes it a prime location for the proposed youth center.
Leigh Adams, executive director of the Ausherman Family Foundation, said the facility will help create a network of providers needed to address various issues that young people face.
“This problem that is happening with youth is a crisis in our country, in our state, in our county and our city and our families,” Adams said.
Alderwoman Donna Kuzemchak and Alderman Derek Shackelford said they weren't sure the project belonged under Housing and Human Services.
Kuzemchak said she has some reservations about the details, but she's excited about the overall plan.
“It is a great idea. It is,” she said.
Everything that the facility would provide goes back to the need to provide youth services, Cottrell said.
Alderman Ben MacShane said he believes DHHS seems like the logical place to oversee the center. He said he's excited for the project to move forward.
He said the center seems like it will provide a central location for a wide range of useful services, and create a spot where new organizations can grow and thrive.
“This is a community asset,” MacShane said.
Brandon Chapman, a local businessman and former youth mentor with the Housing Authority of the City of Frederick, said the plans for the building get him excited.
“I see this as a plan that can really help Frederick continue to be one of those top places to live,” Chapman said.
Jason Francis, another youth mentor, said he was a child who needed a place like what is being proposed when he was growing up.
Just having a place with adults invested in a child's life can make a huge difference, he said.
“There's something very powerful about that,” he said.
Alderman Kelly Russell said the project goes well with other changes planned for the area, including plan for renovations to McCurdy Field and improvements to the Jefferson Street corridor.
“It just seems like all the pieces are falling together to really make this an up-and-coming, attractive area for all of the exciting things that you're doing,” Russell said.
The project is expected to cost $6.8 million, of which nearly $6.5 million has been either secured or pledged, Adams said.
The money includes a federal earmark of more than $4.6 million, a donation from the Ausherman Family Foundation of $1.5 million, a $50,000 donation from the Shields Foundation, and legislative bonds in 2023 of $162,500 and 2024 of $162,000, she said.
The donation of the building from the county is valued at more than $2 million.
The building was acquired by the county in 2005 and used for storage of supplies for the Division of Fire and Rescue Services, according to county records.
The supplies were moved to another warehouse in 2020. The Scotty's Bus Lane building was declared as surplus property by the Frederick County Council in 2022.
