Proposals sought for Charles Young Community Center programs providers

The Charles Young Community Center Advisory Board and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government are seeking bid proposals for programs and service providers for the Charles Young Community Center.
 

The request for proposals was issued Monday, April 23. Proposals are due by 2 p.m. May 21, 2012. A pre-proposal meeting will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, at the Charles Young Community Center, 540 East Third Street.
 

“I am encouraged by the cooperative efforts of the administration, Urban County Council and the Charles Young Center Advisory Board to initiate the redevelopment process,” said 1st District Councilman Chris Ford. “I am hopeful that any and all interested organizations and/or community groups will present programs and services to address the core values identified in the Task Force Report.”
 

Proposals can be submitted by individuals, groups, or organizations (firms, non-profits or private contractors). The proposals should be for community outreach, social, and recreational programming and services to serve the neighborhoods around the center.
 

Preferred uses for the center were determined by the advisory board and include community center, recreational facility, workforce development/job training, senior citizens’ center, youth and teen activities, or other positive values that fit in with the East End Small Area Plan and the Charles Young Feasibility Study.
 

The advisory board has also specifically noted as part of the RFP that there are certain types of uses of the center that are not preferred and will not be as highly valued should any of them be proposed, including use as a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, clothing bank, pawn shop or payday lender, or any use involving the sale of alcohol, or which would allow individuals to sleep at the center, or which would allow parking on the front lawn of the center.
 

Successful bidders would be awarded a five-year contract (3 years with a 2-year renewal option).
 

Proposals should be submitted in a sealed envelope and sent to the Division of Purchasing, Room 338, Urban County Government Center, 200 East Main Street, Lexington, KY. 40507. The envelope should be marked RFP # 14,-2012 Charles Young Community Center Request for Qualifications.
 

Proposals must include one master hardcopy and one electronic version in PDF format on a flashdrive or CD and 11 duplicates (hard copies) for evaluation purposes.
 

Questions should be addressed to Todd Slatin, Buyer Senior, Division of Central Purchasing, at tslatin@lexingtonky.gov. To view the request for proposals online click on https://lfucg.economicengine.com/
 

The Charles Young Community Center was built in the 1930s as the first indoor community facility for African Americans and served as the social and cultural center for the African-American community, particularly in Lexington’s East End.
 

The Center’s most recent use has been as a community center operated by the Urban County Government’s Division of Parks & Recreation. It has been closed since July 2008.
 

From LFUCG