Rain damages Boys & Girls Club facility
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers CLOSED FOR REPAIRS- The Moorpark Boys & Girls Club gym was water damaged after last weekend's storms. The gym is shut down pending clean up of the soaked floor.

High winds coupled with three consecutive winter storms made conditions ripe for trouble at the Boys & Girls Club gym on Casey Road last weekend.

The winds ripped off shingles and roof covering from a good portion of the gymnasium, said Scott Mosher, executive director of the club.

"The winds on News Year's Day were severe, probably the worst we've ever seen," said Lyle Pennington, president of the board for the Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark.

Temporary plastic covering wasn't enough to prevent water from coming down onto the gym floor during several days of rain. Although water pumps were installed to remove the water as it came in, enough damage was caused to make the facility unusable for now.

"We don't know the full extent of the damages. The gym can't be used and it will be closed until the roof can be redone," Mosher said.

Club officials are now working to get estimates for the repairs and waiting for the floor to dry before they can assess damages in full.

In addition to serving the needs of children who come to the club after school, the gymnasium is also home to the Boys & Girls Club Youth Basketball program. The league season was scheduled to start this week. Club leaders and local schooofficials worked out a solution on Tuesday to temporarily accommodate the program. "We're looking to use facilities at Moorpark High School," Mosher said.

"They were facing having to cancel the season unless alternative facilities could be found," said school trustee Ron LaGuardia.

At a school board meeting Tuesday, Larry Brown, superintendent of business services for the Moorpark Unified School District, said the district is working out an affordable payment schedule for the basketball program, which held practice in the old high school gym Wednesday evening.

"We tried to cut down (expenses) to recover out-of-pocket costs," Brown said. "We want to work with them; it's a community thing."

Costs to rent the gym are usually about $140 per hour, including janitorial services, liability and rental fees, but they were reduced by more than half to accommodate the club, Brown said. Other Boys & Girls Club activities have been disrupted by the damages, but the regular afterschool programs are still being offered, Mosher said.

"We're utilizing the outside area while the weather is halfway decent, but if the weather gets worse we'll have a problem," he said. Children also have access to the learning center, game room and teen center, where they can participate in classes.

According to Mosher, the club is currently working on a capital campaign to build a new gym but a site has not yet been secured. In the meantime, the Boys & Girls Club will repair the existing facility. The public may be asked for support in that effort once repair estimates are determined.