By David Still II
dstill@barnstablepatriot.com

photo courtesy Lynne Poyant RAY OF LIGHT Former Boston Bruins great Ray Bourque helped celebrate the opening of the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Skating Rink Saturday, where it was announced that another $1 million was donated for its replacement. Attending the ceremony (l-r) were Dr. Gail Lese, assistant town manager Paul Niedzwiecki, Sen. Therese Murray, David Chase, Banknorth board member John Drew, town council president Gary Brown, Ray Bourque and youth center foundation president Paul Lebel.

With another $1 million donation, fund-raising for the Hyannis Youth and Community Center is $1 million over its original $14 million goal, and thats all to the good, according to the organizations president.

The pledge was comes from the Lyndon Paul Lorusso Charitable Trust of 2002, a philanthropic organization formed by Paul and Lila Lorusso from the remaining assets Independence Park. For the donation, the entire ground floor of the center will be named for Lyndon P. Lorusso, the Lorussos son who died in a 1971 accident. It is the latest in a long line of large donations and namings for the Lorusso family, which has done much philanthropic in Lyndons name.

The announcement of the donation and naming was made by Hyannis Youth & Community Center Foundation chairman Paul Lebel just prior to the season opening at the rink on Saturday.

At this point weve raised about $15 million, said David Chase, president of the foundation.

Thats more than the original estimates for constructing and equipping the center called for. In the coming months, those numbers will be revisited as the final design work is completed.

The youth center got a significant boost last month with the passage of the states supplemental 2004 budget, which tapped more than $400 million in state surplus fund for new spending and projects. Included in that amount was $3.5 million for the non-town matching grant for the center, bringing the total to $14 million prior to the latest gift.

Chase said that the town and fund-raising group will have discussions about what to do with any excess funds. Options include the town simply not spending its full $9 million commitment, or perhaps putting it toward the establishment of an ongoing endowment for the centers operations and maintenance. Such an endowment has been discussed and is desired by the foundation, but talks with the town on those matters have yet to take place.

One thing that is certain, Chase said, is that the fund-raising effort has not ended.

Were not done raising money, Chase said. Those interested in making a donation or simply learning more about the youth center should log on to www.hyannisyouth.org.

The announcement came as part of the season opening for the skating rink, which featured a special appearance by former Boston Bruins captain Ray Bourque. His appearance was coordinated through Banknorth, for which the former Bruin serves as a spokesman. Banknorth is among the larger contributors to the youth center, providing a large enough donation to have the main lobby carry its name.

Bourque skated, provided a clinic and scrimmaged with four different groups as part of the afternoon, appropriately called An Afternoon with Ray Bourque.

Chase estimated that there were between 400 and 500 people in attendance.

The Center

If all goes according to plan, the current rink will be torn down in Spring 2006 and the new twin-rink facility, along with its large gymnasium and function room, will open its doors in the fall of that year.

While the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Skating Rink, built as an open arena in 1957 and covered in 1965, will cease to exist, Chase said that the name will remain in some fashion and will be associated with the new ice rinks. The exact details have not been worked out with the family. U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy assisted in the initial funding of the project, securing a $1 million U.S. Department of Education grant toward its construction.

There remain numerous other naming opportunities for the project, including name of the overall facility. According to the organizations Web site, www.hyannisyouth.org, that honor would require a gift of $2.5 million.

Other naming opportunities include the gymnasium ($250,000); computer room ($100,000); fitness/ballet studio ($50,000) and other small areas and fixtures.

Already taken are the cafe (Scudder Family/Hy-Line), the main lobby (Banknorth of Massachusetts), the function room (Tony Shepley/Shepley Wood Products), the rink lobby (Barnstable Youth Hockey Association), the game room (the Tracy family), and the home bench in the small rink (Puritan Cape Cod), among others.

David Still is the editor of the Barnstable Patriot. He welcomes your feedback.

By the time Governor Mitt Romney signed the supplemental 04 budget last Friday, the $3.5 million for the Hyannis Youth And Community Center was already assured.

The work by Cape legislators, with a big hand from Senate Ways and Means Chairman Therese Murray, helped the project avoid the swipe of Romneys veto pen and was even called out within Romneys comments to the press after the bill was finalized. The governor vetoed $76 million from the budget package approved by the House and Senate for a total supplemental spending package of $439 million.

The $3.5 million completes the non-town funding portion of the $14 million project, allowing it to proceed to the design and engineering stage. David Chase, president of the youth centers non-profit group, expects that bids for design work would go out this fall or winter, with plans set by next summer. Construction could begin after the 2005-06 skating season.

In addition to the $9 million commitment from the town is a $1 million federal Department of Education grant, secured through U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy. Release of the town funds was contingent upon a $4 million private match.

In an e-mail to supporters, Chase wrote, Given the time that has elapsed, rising steel prices, and rising interest rates, the Hyannis Youth & Community Center Foundation will continue fundraising to cover these rising costs and to eventually begin building an endowment.

In the e-mail, Chase credited Murray, Rep. Demetrius Atsalis, Sen. Rob O Leary, Rep. Jeff Perry and even a couple of candidates in the November election. Larry Wheatley, running for state representative in the Fifth Barnstable District, and Dr. Gail Lese, running for Cape and islands state senator, were singled out for their support.

As might be expected, the Barnstable Youth Hockey Association recently presented the Hyannis Youth and Community Center Foundation with a generous gift in the amount of $65,000. “We are just so pleased and happy to provide this donation”, said BYHA Treasurer John Robichaud. “For years the Barnstable Youth Hockey Association has struggled to find quality ice time. Every year, we have more than 450 skaters in a program that starts Labor Day”, he added, which necessitates the rental of ice from fully enclosed rinks outside of Barnstable. “We’re looking forward to buying more ice time for our expanding program in our own town.” Robichaud also sees the opportunity for expanded skating and other sports programs housed in a “great facility for the entire town of Barnstable.”

While the Donation Thermometers rise, plans are underway for a gala spring skating exhibition in March and a celebrity golf tournament in the spring. Donation cans placed in local businesses are also getting filled by Barnstable citizens who are showing they care about the future of their community.

In partnership with the Town of Barnstable, the Hyannis Youth and Community Center Foundation has launched a capital campaign to raise the $14 million needed to build the Center. The Center will be built with a combination of Federal and private foundation grants, individual and corporate philanthropy, and bonds, which will be repaid from revenues. The operating budget of the facility will also be paid for out of revenues. Fundraising to date has generated $10.36 million of the $14 million projected cost. There are no plans for Town funds to be diverted to this project from other critical needs such as schools, roads and public safety.

This state of the art facility will provide much needed recreational and community services to the youth and residents of the Town of Barnstable. Design plans will include a youth center, gymnasium, two full size ice rinks, and all-purpose community meeting rooms. The facility will be constructed where the Kennedy Memorial Skating Rink currently stands, to better serve the large number of families with a high need for youth-related services in the immediate neighborhood. Financial status will not be a barrier to participation at the Center.

Tax deductible donations should be made payable to the Hyannis Youth & Community Center Foundation and mailed to P.O. Box 1604, Hyannis, MA 02601. For more information, call (508)775-6769.