Youth Master Plan Headed to Council
A yearlong process that has involved hundreds of Ojai Valley residents culminates tonight with the presentation of a completed youth master plan to the City Council.
Spurred by the rise in youth crime and violence, the plan is intended to provide educational, recreational and employment opportunities for children.
“It ranges from programs for at-risk kids to programs for those who are gifted,” said Ojai Mayor Steve Olsen, who as principal of the Ojai Valley’s continuation high school was instrumental in the plan’s genesis. “We’re happy the youth master plan is complete, but the hard work begins now because the last thing we want is for this document to sit on the shelf.”
But no money exists for implementing the objectives outlined in the 100-page document, he said.
The first step is to establish a nonprofit organization to raise money for various programs. Among those the plan’s backers hope will be instituted this year are a youth employment service and additional after-school recreational programs.
A lack of money has stymied similar plans in other communities, but Olsen believes that will not happen in Ojai.
“There are a lot of things that are doable without a lot of money,” he said. “The community is behind this.”
The council meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 401 S. Ventura Ave.
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