Park District Executive Director Gayle Mountcastle said the park district has dealt with problematic youth at the fitness center before, but of late, the behavior has “just accelerated.”
That was the word from park district officials who outlined issues reportedly occurring at the Centennial Fitness Center, 1515 W. Touhy Ave., during a meeting of the park board of commissioners on Feb. 3.
Mountcastle described the issues as occurring “almost nightly” and involving different groups of teens — with all areas of the center impacted, from the gym to the racquetball court to the indoor pool.The incidents have involved teens acting disrespectfully toward staff and adult members of the center, not listening to staff instructions, not using fitness equipment for its intended purpose, throwing balls on the track and not properly following mask requirements.
There have been so many issues lately that the fitness center has stationed staff members in the gym, but that has not necessarily changed the behavior, Armer indicated. She explained that on the night of Feb. 2, some teens were being “pretty terrible” to a staff member and refusing to leave the gym when asked.
Shortly after, the park district began requiring non-members under 18 to have their photo taken for an ID when attending drop-in activities. Youth are also now required to have a waiver signed by a parent that is kept on file.
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