Huntingburg Council, mayor weigh in on Teen Outback future

Tuesday evening, Huntingburg’s Common Council and Mayor Neil Elkins expressed support for ensuring the city’s youth have options as the future of the Teen Outback is in question.

The discussion prompted by Mayor Elkins revealed strong personal connections to the center and emphasized its vital role in Huntingburg’s community fabric.

Elkins opened the conversation by expressing his opinion that issues like this should be discussed in a public forum rather than on social media.

He stated that the city needs to be prepared for any future decisions made by the Southwest Dubois County School Corporation regarding the disposition of the property and the potential disruption to the program.

The city can take limited actions directly. The property is owned by the school corporation and leased by the city, which leases it to the Huntingburg Youth Canteen.

The lease between Huntingburg and Southwest Dubois County School Corporation is for ten years, with the current lease renewal occurring in 2028.

Additionally, the city provides an annual utility stipend of $20,000 to the organization.

“I just encourage, as elected officials, that we monitor the situation,” Elkins told the council.

He added that he wants to ensure the city doesn’t lose the programming provided by Teen Outback for the city’s youth.

Councilman Jeff Bounds, who previously served as the Teen Outback board president for many years, shared his long-time connections to the facility.

“I have a particular love for that property. I spent a lot of time there, a lot of events, recruited a lot of volunteers over the years,” he said. “I would like to see and will do whatever I can in my power as an individual to make sure that their programming continues.”

The Teen Outback building is what remains of the former high school. It was operated as the Huntingburg Teenager Canteen for many years. According to Teen Outback board member Ralph Begle, after about eight years of disuse, he and others worked with the Huntingburg Community Foundation in the late 90s to procure a grant to update and repair the facility to reopen.

Supported by Eli Lilly, the Foundation awarded the group $200,000 to make renovations and reopen as the Teen Outback. Working with local partners, including students in the building trades program at the high school, those updates were accomplished, and the facility has been operating as the Teen Outback for 27 years now.

The impact the programming and location have had on the community was apparent after a Facebook post by the board regarding the potential demolition of the building garnered a large response by community members.

“There are a lot of adults that grew up going to the Teen Outback, and their kids are now going,” said Bounds. “I think that’s probably why the outcry was so swift when word was out that demolishing that property was on the table.”

Multiple council members highlighted the center’s extensive use beyond its regular youth programming. The facility hosts multiple organizations, the city’s summer park program, is currently being used by the Huntingburg Library during its renovations, as well as various school corporation programs.

“The building is utilized way more than just one or two dances a month,” said Councilwoman Pam Bolte, a current Teen Outback board member. “I encourage anyone who wants to see the facility to tour it because it does offer a lot for the kids.”

Bolte emphasized the importance of the center’s role in fostering in-person social interaction among youth.

“I think it’s so important to get kids off of their phone, talking to each other, interacting with each other personally, face to face, not just on their phones or through video games,” she added.

Councilman Tim Wehr referenced the Teen Outback’s inclusion in the city’s application for the Stellar Community designation, suggesting its importance to the community was formally recognized during that grant process.

As the social media post fed the outcry over the building’s uncertain future, the school corporation issued a clarification Monday evening. The corporation and school board attempted to assuage the public’s anger in an extensive press release that included renderings for a potential updated building being added.

The corporation emphasized that the plans were very preliminary but acknowledged a discussion had been held between a school board member and a Teen Outback board member regarding these future plans.

That discussion began as the Teen Outback pursued a grant to support repairing the facility’s roof. In an interview on Monday, Begle stated that the 27-year-old roof has issues and is leaking over the game room.

The Teen Outback has enough money to make those repairs, but was applying for a grant to supplement the funding. Since the school corporation owns the building, Teen Outback was asked to get approval from the corporation before a grant could be awarded.

In its press release, the school corporation explained that in light of the potential plans for the updates to the property, it didn’t support the grant being awarded for the roof repairs.

The corporation also stated that if an updated building came to fruition, an area would be made available for Teen Outback’s programming in a community room as well as at expanded facilities on the school grounds.

Here is a story including that information and the social media post.

Tuesday evening, Councilman Wehr expressed concern about replacing the 10,000 square foot building with a much smaller 1,000 square foot community room.

“I just hate to see it’s gone,” Wehr said.

Bounds echoed Wehr, “It has played a big part in our community for a lot of years.”

The Teen Outback’s generosity toward community organizations was also highlighted. Bounds shared how the Friends of Raider Softball used the facility for fundraising events over 20 years without being charged, ultimately raising money to build a softball field and establish an endowment at the community foundation.

“They’ve been so generous to our community for so long,” Bound said. “The fabric of Huntingburg is really woven from that.”

Bounds noted that while the school corporation maintains the facility’s grass, the Teen Outback raises its funds through donations for building maintenance and operations. Those donations also support providing free programming for the kids.

Mayor Elkins concluded the discussion by acknowledging the council’s passion for the Teen Outback while distinguishing between the physical structure and the programming it enables.

“It is a building, but there’s so many things that happen within those walls and outside of those walls,” the mayor said. “It’s more of what grew out of that building versus the building itself. So let’s not lose that programming and that opportunity for youth.”

The council’s comments reflect strong support for preserving the Teen Outback’s services, regardless of the facility’s ultimate fate. With the current lease extending until 2028, council members indicated they would continue to monitor the situation and advocate for the center’s important role in serving Huntingburg’s youth.

“We have powerful voices as the council,” Bounds said. “That might be the most valuable thing we bring to the discussion.”