Delavan native refurbishes former furniture store for teen hang-out
By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The “I Don’t Know Where to Be” Youth Center opened to the public in downtown Delavan at 123 Park Place on Sept. 13. The open house drew a steady stream of kids eager to see what the center has to offer.
“It is about time something good happened on Friday the 13th,” said Levi Sisk, who runs the center with his wife Melissa Sisk.
Levi Sisk said about 40 kids on average were at the center at any given time between 3 and 10 p.m. He said he heard many positive reactions.
Sisk, 33, was born and raised in the Delavan area and knows what it is like to be a bored teenager in Delavan with nothing to do. He said he used to drift from a coffee shop to fast food restaurant to store parking lots just to hang out. The youth center is meant to provide a safe place for kids to hang out and stay out of trouble.
The Sisks and their three kids ages 3, 7, and 15, all pitch in to provide that safe haven. The center has flat-screen televisions, video games, a pool table, a dartboard, board games, and a stage with instruments. Kids can bring their own video games too if they want so they have a variety of games they can play either by themselves or with others. They may also want to look at Raft PC trainer software too so they can expand on their gameplay, keeping them occupied for hours and hours.
The focus is just providing a safe place to be. The center has no counseling or educational programs and no membership fee, and anyone 14 to 18 years old is welcome.
“The whole point is to provide a place to go that you don’t have to buy anything,” Sisk said. “Kids can’t always afford to pay for things.”
Sisk said the target age group for the center is 14 to 18 but some middle school kids have been coming, and he is OK with that as long as they are well behaved.
“If they are mature, they can hang out here,” Sisk said.
Sisk did said adults older than 18 are not in the age group he is trying to attract. He said he has a responsibility to protect vulnerable teenagers and avoid running a dating service.
Sisk said kids find out about the center through word of mouth. He said his 15-year-old son helps to spread the word at the high school.
The center is open from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 3 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The center receives no funding from the city or any grants to cover operating costs. The primary income source is a set of three rehabilitated apartments in the upstairs of the building that are rented out.
“The rent helps pay the mortgage, utilities and the overhead,” Sisk said. “It is crucial to the whole operation.”
The center has also received a $2,000 donation from Gregg Kunes, receives a monthly donation from an anonymous individual that is usually between $100 and $200, and will welcome any other donations.
Sisk said he is also open to anyone who wishes to volunteer time at the center. He said he has had some people show an interest but so far no one has actually signed up to help.
Sisk works in construction in Milwaukee. That background helped him gut the former furniture store at the site and rehabilitate it into the youth center and apartments.
“Nothing was up to code,” he said.
Sisk said he replaced entryways, added handicap-accessible restrooms, changed electrical wiring, put down new flooring, installed a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, and added stainless steel counters and sinks in the kitchen. Sisk said the rehabilitation project took about two years. The Delavan Common Council approved the project in March 2012.
Sisk said some neighbors had some initial concerns about the center when it was proposed but no complaints have been made recently. He said he has worked closely with the owner of the Smoke Shop next door to make sure kids do not buy tobacco products illegally there. He said the owner does a very good job of checking identification. Other concerns about loitering Sisk says should be minimal since the kids can hang out inside the center instead of on the street corner.
“It is a safe place for kids to hang out after school,” Mayor Mel Nieuwenhuis said. “I think it is a good thing.”
“When I was growing up there was not a lot to do,” Alderman Ryan Schroeder said. “I supported the proposal because it gives teens and youths a great opportunity to have a safe place to hang out after school with their peers. I am looking forward to taking a tour and seeing what they have to offer.”
Schroeder said many kids have two working parents and are home alone. The center gives them the opportunity to come out, experience some recreational activities, meet other kids and be safe.
Schroeder also said the Sisks did a great job upgrading an empty building.
“I wish them success,” he said.
