Arlington Hts. Teen Center will be leased to Christian group

The Arlington Heights village board Monday night approved renting the teen center to Metro Youth for Christ.

The village will act only as landlord and will play no part in programming, said Village Manager Bill Dixon.

A major reason this group was selected is its plan to operate a free drop-in center for young people, which was an important part of the teen center’s mission, said Kathy Scortino, former chair of the commission.

The village board closed the teen center about a year ago because of budget difficulties.

The program will be called Campus Life and at least at first will concentrate on middle school students.

Trustee Tom Glasgow said his questions about separation of church and state were answered by researching agreements other governments have reached and his trust in Jack Siegel, village attorney.

The draft lease calls for rent of $700 per month to cover maintenance of the heating and air conditioning system and elevator, grass cutting and landscaping and alarm systems, said Robin Ward, assistant village attorney.

The village staff will continue to negotiate the lease with the organization, and the group will have to seek a variance from the plan commission because the center will no longer be operated as a public building, Dixon said. The process will probably take about three months, and the village board will have final approval, he said.