By JEANETTE WOLFBERG
HUDSON – “A huge amount of youth find solace” at the Hudson Youth Clubhouse, said Tistrya Houghtling, supervisor of New Lebanon. The clubhouse has orders to vacate its quarters at 11 Warren Street by the end of November. Columbia County is about to purchase that Hudson building from Galvan, and county officials are helping the vlubhouse try to find a new home. At its October 11 full board meeting, the County Supervisors – in a divided vote – authorized a budget transfer in preparation for buying 11 Warren and rejected a proposal to request delaying the closing until the clubhouse has found a new location, while at the October 17 Health and Human Services Supervisors Committee meeting the Department of Social Services (DSS) reported continued efforts to find the clubhouse a new location.
“We are a safe space designed to be a drop in center,” said the clubhouse’s Director Kai Hillman. A WGXC Radio broadcast announcing the clubhouse’s founding in 2017 depicted it as a supportive environment, free of alcohol and drugs. Some of its clients have “not good home lives,” said Supervisor Houghtling. “It’s critical for their physical and mental health,” said Maija Reed, Youth Commissioner for the City of Hudson. If the clubhouse is evicted, “the lights will go off, and there’ll be no place to go,” said Supervisor Brenda Adams (Canaan).
The clubhouse has been at 11 Warren for a year and a half. It is the longest the clubhouse has been in any one location, said Supervisor Claire Cousin (Hudson First Ward).
The county sees 11 Warren as an opportunity to move some offices from pre-war to post war buildings and to provide better storage for voting machines. This fall the county signed a contract to buy the building from Galvan for $3,350,000. Before the signing, “we renegotiated the contract several times,” said Supervisor Robert Lagonia (Austerlitz). Bard Early College uses part of the building, and the contract allows them to stay until May 2024. But the contract does not recognize the clubhouse. A million dollars for the purchase is to come from the American Rescue Plan. On October 11, the board voted to transfer the remaining $2,350,000 from the county’s general fund to its capital fund. This positions the county to close on the purchase immediately when Galvan resolves “building issues,” probably in November.
Supervisors noted that even if Galvan issues the eviction orders, people will blame the expulsion of the Youth Clubhouse from 11 Warren on the county government. “That’s what we’ll be remembered for,” said one.
“The lights will go off, and there’ll be no place to go.”
–Canaan Town Supervisor Brenda Adams
At the October 11 meeting, three of the supervisors who voted against transferring money to the ready-and-set-to-go position were Michael Chameides (Hudson, 3rd Ward), Ms. Cousin, and Ms. Houghtling.
The clubhouse is important for not only the youths it serves but for the entire county, said Mr. Chameides. It works as a “prevention and mental health service.” Without it, more people will do bad things, and “we’ll spend more money on programs we don’t want to spend money on.”
In addition, the county has “had a major dip in juvenile probation,” he reported and attributed this to youth services.
Ms. Cousin remarked that the building is in her ward and acknowledged that some of her constituents want the space for retail. “I think that youth programming is better than retail space,” she said. Furthermore, “this program has been picked up and moved so many times,” and it is very hard to find space anywhere.
Ms. Houghtling called for a “path forward” that is “win-win” instead of either/or. “I was excited about the purchase of 11 Warren, but I voted for it with the understanding that the clubhouse would not be displaced.”
On the other hand, somebody said that not to close on the deal would be a breach of contract.
The Supervisors also voted down a proposal to request extending the closing until the Youth Clubhouse finds a new home. Supervisor Lagonia said, “This would just be kicking the can down the road.”
Board Chairman Matt Murell (Stockport) said he had already reached out to DSS and Youth Services to find a new location for the clubhouse.
Supervisor Timothy Ooms (Kinderhook) suggested considering putting it in a school with declining enrollment.
At the October 18 meeting, Bob Gibson, commissioner of the DSS, announced he had put together a committee on the Youth Clubhouse. “We are going to make sure we…keep the program going,” he said.
Somebody said, “We want to make sure the next space is long term, and they won’t have to move again next year.”
Director Hillman called having to move “a huge stress. Any support will be helpful.”
On October 30, Ms. Reed said she had no update on the clubhouse. Calls to other people were not returned by press time.
(In this report, quotations come from both meetings on October 11 and October 17.)
