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Relative: 25-04-24 1st Installment-20250904T073820Z-1-001/25-04-24 1st Installment/32782_Installment_1B_Email_March_21-30__652_/Redmond Teen Center (37).msg
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From: Christopher Hill <chillhill76@gmail.com>
To: mayor@redmond.gov
Subject: Redmond Teen Center
Date: 2025-03-27 04:00:00-10:00

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Dear Mayor Birney, I am a Redmond native and music instructor with an interdisciplinary degree from Fairhaven College at WWU entitled "Wellness Through Music for Children At-Risk." I studied psychology, communication, music and recording, and studied at the Woodring Education Department at WWU. For many decades I have worked to make kid's lives better. I now work at Kaleidoscope Music in Issaquah mostly teaching youth. I grew up in Redmond. In the 90's the Old Firehouse teen center was an incredible place for teens to gather, have a safe community and see all ages shows. It helped me become the person I am today, a working musician who strives to give back to the community. Many local Seattle talents such as Sunny Day Real Estate got their start there. I've personally known and taught youth who have benefited greatly from the center. 

I have just received word that it will be shutting down. I think this is a giant mistake! I feel that it is a great benefit to the community for teens to have a healthy place to gather. It also makes Redmond a better city by helping youth to stay out of trouble. 

I've heard that specific programs may be moved to other places. However I don't think that this will be nearly as helpful to youth. The center as a whole unit is what makes it special. Kids need a place to belong. A sense that they have their own building and a say in what happens there. It makes it feel like a home away from home. The Old Firehouse is a landmark in the Seattle area. There is a rich history there. This history imbues a sense of pride in the youth who spend time there. It would also be difficult to recreate a place to hold a recording studio, stages and a game area. 

I think that shutting down the center will be detrimental to the future leaders of the City of Redmond, the youth. I hope that you will preserve the teen center. If there are structural challenges it would be better to address and repair these then to have the teens lose their sense of place in their City. I believe this loss will damage the culture and morale of the whole of Redmond. On the other hand preserving it will make the City of Redmond the kind of place that parents will want to move to and raise their kids in. 

Thanks for listening,

Chris Hill 
