The Recreation and Parks Department has plans to accommodate kids affected by the Hurricane Irma-related closure.
As Plant City eagerly awaits the construction of the city’s new community center, the Recreation and Parks Department has had to work around one problem: how to accommodate kids from the MLK Recreation Center into the Planteen center.
Though the ball fields at the MLK rec center are still usable, the building itself is on the brink of being demolished to make room for the new center. Luckily for those who participate in the city’s youth programs at the MLK center, the Recreation and Parks Department is making sure they’ll have somewhere to go in the summer.
Both rec centers have been used for the city’s annual Summer Youth Program, a nine-week program that gives kids age 6-15 a place to play sports, make arts and crafts, go on field trips and more. With the MLK center out of commission, the initial plan is for kids in that area to go to the Planteen rec center on Dort Street.
Program Manager Deborah Haldane said the department is expecting an increase in enrollment for 2018, despite the loss of one rec center. The department expects roughly 200 kids to participate in the program, which Haldane said is similar to what the Planteen rec center was able to fit before the 2008 economic recession.
“We are pretty much planning to use it the same way we always have. Before 2008 the crash, we had a lot of kids at Planteen,” she said.
Haldane said there is a possibility of another venue being added to make up for the loss of the MLK rec center. She said the department is trying to work with the Hillsborough County School Board to host program events at Marshall Middle School, which would help families nearer to the MLK rec center — Marshall is located right across the street.
In addition to the usual slate of indoor and outdoor activities, this year’s program will have additional offerings for teens, field trips to Aquatica and the Orlando Science Center and a continuation of last year’s STEM-focused Discovery activities.
This year’s program will begin June 4 and continue through August 3. Haldane said 30 kids were registered at the Summer Youth Program registration kick-off on March 24 and there has been a steady influx of enrollments since then. The cost to enroll in the program is $375 per child and the fee covers the cost for shirts, field trips and transportation and other program costs. For more information, call the Planteen rec center at 813-659-4256.
