Rolling Meadows' police resource center to close

The much-praised Rolling Meadows Police Neighborhood Resource Center will phase out operations in November, another victim of hard economic times.

The Rolling Meadows Police Department established the center at East Park Apartments north of Algonquin Road and west of New Wilke Road in 1991 in response to a lack of services and increasing crime at a few multifamily complexes.

Over the years, as many as 20 agencies have offered services through the center, said Mayor Ken Nelson. Currently these include Harper College, the Salvation Army and the Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program.

The center cost the city about $400,000 a year, and ultimately the decision to cut funding rested with the City Council, said Nelson.

"I was very disappointed to see the council voted no longer to fund it. It was a tremendous asset to the community and one of the first such centers in this area," he said, adding it inspired many others.

Nelson said the center serves a large contingency in Southwestern Rolling Meadows and a wider area than many people think.

"It helps people get involved in being good citizens," he said. "We would respond to police calls out there in full riot gear. The (center) began as a tool to quell those sorts of activities and grew into the social service agency."

The council cut some center funding in the 2009 city budget, then reduced it more during the year until the city was only paying the salary of Victoria Bran, the director.

The private PNRC Foundation, formed years ago to support the center, said it would pay the other expenses until year's end or it ran out of funds. But it became impossible for the foundation to raise money when it was obvious the city would not provide funding next year, said Nelson.

The three center staff members coordinate the partnering agencies and provide referrals and direct services such as counseling, said Police Chief Steve Williams.

An officer was stationed at the center until about six months ago, and Northwest Community Hospital ran a clinic there until a year ago, said Williams.

Harper College teaches about 1,000 people yearly there in classes like computer literacy, English as a Second Language, GED or high school equivalency and employment skills training, said college spokesman Phil Burdick.

"We serve some of our most vulnerable population in the Northwest suburbs," said Burdick. "We want to find a way to continue that going forward."

A solution would be to partner with other organizations to keep the center open, he said.

These Harper students are "place bound," said Burdick, with issues like transportation and child care preventing travel to other sites.

Palatine Township Elementary District 15 staffed homework centers there for years, but the district decided not to start them this school year when officials learned the center would close.

District 15 will miss staffing the center and has no comparable location in Rolling Meadows to provide services, said Cheryl Wolfel, director of second language programs. While many residents speak Spanish, other languages are also represented, said Wolfel. She hopes somehow the center will survive.

It also served as a place for summer school classes, and schools called parent meetings there and posted informational fliers. Center staff would check on children who missed school and help parents fill out forms, said Wolfel.

Parents are so accustomed to catching buses at the center for evening school events that the district will continue to run them, she said.

"It was a support system that for us had been there for a long time - a focal point in the community," said Wolfe. "It's a huge loss."

Rolling Meadows police have applied for grants to continue after-school and summer programs for youths and counseling and assistance for domestic violence victims, said Dave Scanlan, who will become police chief Jan. 1. He said the fate of the applications will probably not be known before then.

"I certainly do feel it has helped cut down on crime," said Williams.

Officers will still be assigned to the area and continue to communicate with complex managers when issues arise, said Scanlan.