COUNTY SEEKS FUNDS FOR VAL VERDE TEEN CENTER.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

VAL VERDE - The county is seeking state bond money to build a teen center in Val Verde as part of a plan to bring more recreation to areas lacking in parks and other services.

The Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department has applied for $623,169 to help build a 1,600-square-foot center at Val Verde Park that would include activity rooms, said Sheila Ortega, a department spokeswoman.

The goal is to lure teens from this lower-income community northwest of Santa Clarita to a safe environment for entertainment, games and other activities offered in a supervised setting.

The teen center is one of five recreation sites that would get money from a 2000 voter-approved state parks bond if a request approved Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors is accepted, Ortega said.

If the state money is available, the county would pitch in a 30 percent match.

The state is providing bond money to recreation projects that serve ``at- risk'' youths, those in low-income neighborhoods where special programs help keep teens out of trouble, Ortega said. The goal is to upgrade recreation in areas plagued by poverty, unemployment, deteriorating recreation facilities and a shortage of youth services.

Plans in Val Verde call for spending $15,000 on 10 computer stations and seeking donations to buy games.

The center would be built at Val Verde Park, the social gathering point in this semirural community. The historic park and public pool were built in the 1930s for African-Americans from Los Angeles who were prohibited from using segregated public facilities in the city.

As part of the same request, the county is seeking $161,457 from the bond to build Roosevelt Park Skate Park in Florence, $430,713 for Alondra Park Skate Park in Lawndale, $257,365 for Jesse Owens Park Skate Park in Los Angeles and $777,307 for Los Robles Park Environmental Youth Service Center in Hacienda Heights.