Fifth Corner realizes dream of creating Teen Center in Saline

Posted on Sun, Aug 1, 2010 : 10 a.m.

Fifth Corner realizes dream of creating Teen Center in Saline

By Tara Cavanaugh

Volunteers paint inside The Fifth Corner building in Saline last week. Saline Community Church owns the building and will be renting out space to a new teen center.

Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com

A place for teens to hang out that is fun and safe and that gives them a voice in what goes on has been a goal of many youth and adults in Saline for a long time.

This fall it will become a reality when Saline opens a teen center called the Fifth Corner, a play on the often-referenced “four corners” of Michigan and Ann Arbor streets in downtown Saline. “The name also shows we’re thinking outside the box, outside the typical four corners,” said City Council member David Rhoads.

Rhoads, president of the Fifth Corner advisory board, said putting together a teen center in Saline “ took the right combination of circumstances.”

The Saline Community Church has purchased the former Baptist church at 211 Willis Road. The Fifth Corner will rent the space from the church and have first dibs on using the space for activities every day but Sundays.

How to help

To donate to the Fifth Corner or volunteer, contact David Rhoads at (734) 216-7473 or david@hsa-remodel.com.

The Saline Youth Council pushed hard from 2007 to 2009 to create a teen center. “We had the interest; we just couldn’t scrape together the funding,” Jody Roberts, leader of the youth council, said.

The Saline Leadership Institute, a collaboration of local business and nonprofit leaders, talked about a teen center for a few years too, said Rhoads, who is a longtime member of the SLI.

Rhoads said he decided to get state approval for the teen center last fall, and early this year he and Peter Rufener, the pastor at Saline Community Church, decided to share resources to make it happen. The Saline Community Church purchased the building on Willis in June.

An agreement will enable the church and the Fifth Corner to use the space and save costs. “We could get a building of our own, but it would sit empty 90 percent of the week,” Rufener said. The church has already begun to hold services there, he said.

Volunteers and staff for the Fifth Corner are painting the walls. Pews have been removed. Room dividers have been taken out to open up the space. Ping-Pong tables, foosball tables, computer stations and TVs will be added.

The renovations cost about $12,000. Rhoads said the church is paying most of that. The Fifth Corner is not technically a nonprofit organization yet, but it has been able to get some donations by operating under the umbrella of the Saline Coalition for a Quality Community. The CQC is a nonprofit that allows groups to start up and solicit donations until they reach nonprofit status of their own. The Fifth Corner will apply for nonprofit status in the fall, Rhoads said.

The teen center will have a soft opening in the fall when school starts. It won’t open its doors full time, and it won’t be fully staffed. This strategy will let teens take part in shaping the center's operation. "I think that’s important,” Rhoads said.

Rufener said the plan is to use the center for special events in the fall and have regular operating hours during the winter. This fall’s events could include concerts or activities after a football game, he said, “to get kids in the building, get them exposure as we develop a student leadership team.”

The advisory board is made up of adults, like Rufener and Rhoads, with spots for two teens currently filled by high school students. The center will also have a student operations board that will be made up of 12 to 14 teens and an adult leader. It will plan events.

“We realize if students are driving it, they’re the best PR with their friends, Rufener said.

Organizers said they're taking steps to make sure the center will be a safe place for teens to hang out. Rufener said adult staff and volunteers will have to undergo a thorough background check.

Organizers are also working on a plan to provide transportation to the center after school. Rhoads said he had discussed with Superintendent Scot Graden the possibility of using a bus shuttle to and from schools, but “the schools’ (financial) situation is fluid, so we’re not sure about that.”

Other transportation possibilities include using the bus at the senior center or the 15-passenger van owned by the Saline Recreation Center.

Carolanne Stockton, 14, will be a freshman next year at Saline High School. She said the teen center sounds appealing, because “There are things for teens to do in Saline, but not a lot.”

Matt Davis, 16, who will be a junior next year, said most of his friends just hang out at each other’s houses, or sometimes go to the movies. “I think (teens) would really enjoy a place where they could just hang out,” he said. He thought dancing or karaoke or video games would make the center attractive to teens.

“What the kids do now, when they get a driver’s license, or when they know somebody who has a driver’s license, they head up to Ann Arbor,” Rhoads said. “So we’re really targeting the youth that are just below the age of getting a drivers’ license. They’re more trapped in the community. We need to give them more options.”

“Our goal is to really create another safe place for students to go and hang out and develop as leaders. A place they can really call their own,” Rufener said. … It’s just another way of making Saline a better place to live.”

Tara Cavanaugh is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com. To reach the news desk, call 734-623-2530.

Comments

Peter Rufener

Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 4:13 p.m.

@ Silence Dogood...just wanted to follow-up on your post. First, the Fifth Corner is going to have a concert series with high school bands on the last Saturday night of the month. The first one is January 29. The students are working hard to put this together. It will be a lot like the opening night where we had multiple bands and about 125 kids in attendance. You are right about getting the "Fifth Corner" name out there. We have some people that have some expertise in marketing that are going to donate their time to get us "on the map". In regards to the graffiti, it is a wii game reference so pretty innocent but will come down when the weather is a little warmer. Right now pretty hard to get down in the cold. On the sidewalk issue, we have a neighborhood boy who is shoveling it now in exchange for free membership to the teen center. This should not be a problem anymore. Sorry!

Peter Rufener

Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 4:13 p.m.

Peter Rufener

Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 4:12 p.m.

Peter Rufener

Thu, Jan 13, 2011 : 4:12 p.m.

Silence Dogood

Sun, Jan 9, 2011 : 8:03 p.m.

I have seen the teen center, The Fifth Corner, and I think it has much potential. However, there are some things that must be done: 1. It will need to get it's name out. Maybe a concert series, or something like that. 2. There is graffiti on the side of the building spelling: "Defeat." Whatever that means. 3. For nearly the whole month of December the PUBLIC sidewalks were not shoveled. I happen to jog this sidewalk, and until recently, it was 100% ice. I really think that this teen center has potential, but it needs some work. I am all for it. And Cobrall, there are literally only about 4-5 people who actually use the teen center, and NONE of them are high schoolers. The place is only open on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so you have nothing to worry about. So stop worrying. Good luck, Fifth corner. You have my full support.

the leprachaun

Sat, Oct 9, 2010 : 6:05 p.m.

The Teen Center was Awesome today thanks Mr.Rhoads for getting this to work. @corbrall I live on willis and the teen center is awesome and not to noisy

CobraII

Tue, Aug 3, 2010 : 11:58 p.m.

Mr. Rhoads, Wake-up & smell the coffee. The people that live on South Ann Arbor St. & Crestwood Circle don't want this teen center dream of yours. I was not dreaming about the meeting I attended. I also was in the RRP class you took.

David Rhoads

Mon, Aug 2, 2010 : 3:25 p.m.

To Cobrall: I would appreciate the opportunity to talk directly with you because I have been involved with the proposed teen center every step of the way and I can not identify with any of your comments about the meeting which you attended. Is it possible that you are thinking of some other teen center or something which happened prior to the current effort. Also, this is NOT a church sponsored teen center. It is only being held in a building owned by a church because that is all we could find that the Fifth Corner could afford. My cell phone is 734-216-7473 and I would appreciate a call from you. Thanks

CobraII

Mon, Aug 2, 2010 : 12:19 p.m.

To Mr Rhoads, The meeting I attended, the chair wanted to remove everyone in attendance because nobody wanted the teen center & the chair had already decided to allow it before the meeting started. As for using the cities rec center bus for church purposes, think again!!

David Rhoads

Mon, Aug 2, 2010 : 10:31 a.m.

Thank you for covering this teen activity. It would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of several Saline groups including a large number of teens. Regarding Cobrall's comment: The neighbors were all talked with and invited to the potential location prior to it being purchased for the Teen Center. There was only one who voiced any concerns and I believe that was addressed to his satisfaction. The location which is bordered on the East and South sides by City parks, lends itself to use by these energetic youth who are the future leaders of our community.

pawky

Mon, Aug 2, 2010 : 9:48 a.m.

Great idea. Kudos to all involved.

CobraII

Mon, Aug 2, 2010 : 9:22 a.m.

Too bad for the neighbors to this teen center, they'll have to live with it 7 days a week!