MORGANTOWN — In a November conversation with Morgantown City Council, Chris Haddox, chair of the Woodburn School Redevelopment Commission, questioned whether the Mountaineer Boys & Girls Club had a future in the Woodburn facility.
Those remarks proved prophetic.
Morgantown Communications Director Andrew Stacy said that despite the efforts of the city and the commission, the club has been asked to vacate the city-owned facility after falling more than $30,000 behind on rent and utility payments.
“Both city administration and the Woodburn School Redevelopment Commission agree that they have made every good faith effort possible to support MBGC and to keep them as tenants. However, they also both agreed that it is time to move forward with termination,” Stacy said.
Stacy said the city offered nearly $10,000 in rent reductions and encouraged the club to pursue Community Development Block Grant funding. He said the group has not submitted an application for CDBG funds and has previously allocated CDBG dollars that have gone unspent.
The issues began in the spring of 2019, when an audit by Boys & Girls Club of America resulted in an order to immediately suspend programming.
At the time, a board member for the club said the mandate was due to outdated policies and procedures as well as issues with the 100-year old former Woodburn school it called home.
A 2019 report from the nonprofit indicated it had more than 200 kids enrolled in its various programs.
The club has not had kids in the building since, but has continued to use the facility for administration, storage and staff training, according to Stacy.
And the club’s issues with the national organization remain unresolved.
In a statement to The Dominion Post, Boys & Girls Club of America said it routinely checks clubs’ adherence to standards regarding safety, organizational governance, youth membership, compliance with federal, state and local laws, annual reporting, employee benefits, insurance, staffing and other key areas.
“Unfortunately, the Mountaineer Boys & Girls Club failed to meet these requirements despite months of consultation and efforts by BGCA to foster improvement.”
While BGCA said details of the club’s noncompliance would not be provided, the statement did confirm that it has revoked Mountaineer Boys & Girls Club’s charter, meaning it can no longer use the Boys & Girls Club name or other intellectual property.
“BGCA requires that each of its local affiliates operate in an environment of safety, accountability, and the highest ethical standards. Local organizations must adhere to BGCA membership requirements in order to have the right to be called a Boys & Girls Club.”
Attempts to contact a representative of the Mountaineer Boys & Girls Club were not successful.
