Support Epicentre Funding at the Board of Supervisors

With your help and support, we were able to transfer operation of the Epicentre, the closed teen center across the street from Mira Mesa High School, from the city to the county last year after the Epicentre spent years languishing in a state of closure without an operating concessionaire.

Unfortunately, the toll that closure and subsequent abandonment has taken on the structure over the last five years is extreme, and it’s in worse shape than anyone realized. According to revised estimates since 2020, the Epicentre needs an additional $4.35 million to bring the building up to code and reopen it for youth and teen-focused services and programming.

It doesn’t take much for a building to fall into disrepair. That’s why we transferred the facility from the city to the county in the first place – because the city had failed to staff and manage a paid-for city asset, not to mention a unique cultural venue for our Mira Mesa community.

We expected the county to include the $4.35 million in its upcoming 2022-23 budget. Unfortunately, when the county released its preliminary capital project list, funding for the Epicentre was delayed to the following 2023-24 fiscal year. Our Neighborhoods First campaign and Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s office know the Epicentre is an urgent priority for Mira Mesa and should be prioritized and funded now – as in this year.

The County will discuss the preliminary capital project list as Item 16 at the Board of Supervisors meeting this Tuesday, March 1st, beginning art 9 a.m. We need our neighbors to dial in and speak out about why this project is so important and needs to be immediately funded. Can you help?

Take Action

Provide phone testimony at the board meeting to explain to commissioners and staff, in your own words, why the Epicentre is an urgent priority for Mira Mesa.

1. Fill out the request to speak form. The form must be submitted before the meeting starts. After completing the form, you’ll get instructions on how to call in to the meeting.
2. Watch or listen to the meeting.
3. When the Board of Supervisors begins to discuss Item 16: “Capital Improvement Needs Assessment,” call in to the conference line and turn off your TV or live stream. You’ll continue to hear the board meeting after calling in. Please do not call until the item you want to speak about is being discussed.
4. When it’s time for public comments on our item, the Board of Supervisors clerk will begin to call on speakers by the last four digits of their phone number. They will unmute callers. You’ll hear a prompt that will indicate your phone is unmuted. You will then need to press *6 on your phone to unmute yourself. Staff will then ask you to state your name and begin your comments.

You can also leave a one-sentence e-comment before the board meeting and state this is an important and urgent priority for you and your family. Click here to make an e-comment  on Item 16: “Capital Improvement Needs Assessment.”