Opinions Split On Potential St. Cloud Community Center

(KNSI) – Neighbors were divided at Tuesday’s St. Cloud Planning Commission meeting about a potential community center in the 1400 block of 5th Street North.

Lily Malcolm said it is the perfect thing, given the disruptions of COVID. “We’re coming off of a time where a lot of children’s social wellness is stunted because they were born in a pandemic. They didn’t have the opportunity to build connections. And, so, for them to be able to rebuild connections now is important.”

The center would be run by Too Much Talent. Diane Schwartz said she was fully behind the group’s mission but thought it was the wrong spot for a location catering to younger children.

“The drugs, the sex offenders! I worry about my grandkids and my kids in this neighborhood because of where we live.”

Schwartz and other neighbors said the area sees a lot of drug use and homeless individuals, plus there are nearby halfway houses, including recently released sex offenders.

The site is a former industrial building. With 14,000 square feet, it has more than enough space to house the 40 children that are part of Too Much Talent. Executive Director Sahara Gibson says TMT is ready to set down permanent roots.

“2MT has moved around quite a bit over the last years. One being the Youth for Christ building. We also were on West St Germain, which is a very small building. We had to use other surrounding landmarks, such as the library, to house all of our students. We’ve been at the old GeoComm building.”

The building has a small lot without room for an outdoor playground and parking for only eight vehicles. Too Much Talent provides after-school tutoring, plus activities like dance, sports, and physical fitness.

Several parents of children enrolled at Too Much Talent also spoke in support of the move. There is a purchase agreement in place to buy the building, should it get support from the city council at next month’s meeting.

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