South Merced group pledges to charge on despite City Council decision

A group of south Merced advocates said they are displeased with a Merced City Council decision last week that blocks their youth program from using a city youth center, but they remain determined to carry on with their efforts.

The South Merced Neighborhood Council, what used to be advocacy group Perry-Oakley, met Thursday to discuss its options now that the Spirit of Excellence Academy, which teams a handful of nonprofits, is not allowed to use the Stephen Leonard Park Youth Center.

Kirk Wright, 61, of Merced, a member of the neighborhood council, said the group feels slighted by the City Council, because the youth program should have at least been given equal use of the center. But the south Merced advocates say they intend to regroup and move forward with their plans.

“We’re not giving up, but we’re moving forward,” he said.

The City Council voted 5-2 on July 6 to award a two-year lease allowing Merced Atlas Soccer Academy to use the Stephen Leonard Park Youth Center. Councilmen Tony Dossetti and Josh Pedrozo cast the dissenting votes, saying the groups should be able to work out a shared plan.

The city budgeted $7,500 to cover the building’s utilities for the year.

During the City Council meeting this month, Spirit of Excellence leaders said the group was willing to share the center with the soccer academy. But soccer academy leaders said they were not willing to share the center.

The neighborhood group said they are worried that the decision will leave out children who are not interested in athletics or are unable to pay to be in the soccer program. The group said the decision highlights a lack of representation for south Merced from the City Council.

All seven members of the City Council live north of Bear Creek. Merced is undergoing a process to draw up districts in town; advocates have said that will help south Merced see better representation.

Another member of the neighborhood council, Annette Lee, said her group appears to have lined up a classroom to begin to implement some of the Spirit of Excellence Academy programs.

Excellence Academy is new to Merced. The program looks to offer a number of educational programs, according to its presentation to the City Council, in hopes of preparing local children for a pathway to UC Merced.

This story was originally published July 16, 2015 at 6:26 PM with the headline "South Merced group pledges to charge on despite City Council decision."