Community Center Used to Help Battle Gangs to Get Major Improvements

The Miller Park Community Center on 4th Street will be getting a major upgrade over the next few years thanks to a local agriculture company.

The City of Yakima announced that thanks to Washington Fruit and Produce, Co., the center will receive "substantial funding" over the next five years to refurbish the building that has been used recently in the Gang Free Initiative (GFI) program.

Details of the funding and plans for the building will be made public at a press conference Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. City Manager Tony O'Rourke and others will speak about the importance of the building as the city tries to fight gangs.

For Washington Fruit and Produce, it was all about improving the lives of their workers says Operations Manager Tommy Hanses.

Whenever an opportunity comes along to improve the lives of our employees and their families, we take advantage of it.

The building was originally built as a senior center in the 1970s, but now is a key part of the GFI and is also used by the Yakima Police Activities League to make a positive impact in the community.

The upgrades at the building will broaden the reach and activities of the community.