The Urbana Youth Center (UYC) announced this week it has been awarded a $100,000 grant for operations from a private sector endowment fund in Dayton.

However, a multi-million dollar state-funded expansion of the UYC is effectively dead.

A project of the GrandWorks Foundation, UYC received a $100,000 donation this month as part of its ongoing fundraising efforts.

“This contribution was a doubling down in support from the R.C. Appenzeller Family Endowment Fund of The Dayton Foundation, who previously donated $45,000 in 2023,” according to a statement published on the UYC’s website.

Bob Appenzeller, advisor to the R.C. Appenzeller Family Fund of The Dayton Foundation, visited UYC and said according to the UYC website: “The positive effect on the community at the Urbana Youth Center is exemplary. My sister Becky and I have opted to increase our support for UYC, in keeping with the intent of the Fund established by our parents whereby youth and community are served mindfully. Public institutions should take notice of the private sector’s sustained commitment to successful public charities like the Urbana Youth Center. UYC is a template for a successful project that can be applied across many communities.”

Currently, nearly all UYC’s financial support comes from non-governmental sources, like the Appenzeller Fund, according to the organization’s analysis of its most recent financial reports. UYC had previously requested public funding from local governments and agencies.

“Receiving this donation is incredibly humbling. The staff and volunteers at UYC work tirelessly to support the youth of our community. We all appreciate it when that work is supported unequivocally,” said Matthew T. Watson, board member for the GrandWorks Foundation.

Expansion plans for UYC cease

While operational funding has been supported by non-governmental entities, an expansion of the center that was to be paid for with state capital funding was stopped in its tracks after the UYC held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the expansion in 2023.

The State of Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services had given the nod to capital funding to renovate and expand UYC’s facility, according to the UYC website.

Last year, UYC broke ground on the building expansion valued at approximately $2.25 million before progress was halted as state funds did not arrive.

UYC officials say they had an approved application and signed contract and “had met all the application requirements.”

Soon after that point, the project was stopped.

“After our groundbreaking last summer, an individual from our State Representative’s office reached out to our executive director to let us know the funding was on hold and would not be released until we received a letter of support from several entities, including the City of Urbana,” Watson said.

The office of State Rep. Tim Barhorst, who represents Champaign County, paused the flow of funds from the State of Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services in 2023.

This caused the UYC to be unable to continue the expansion project.

An inquiry this week from the Urbana Daily Citizen to Barhorst’s office about the anticipated state funds resulted in the following statement being issued through Barhorst’s staff: “My office remains committed to help foster collaboration between local government entities, stakeholders, and local projects that come across my desk to ensure transparency and consistency. It is our responsibility as public officials to ensure that any project in the 85th District receiving taxpayer dollars from the State has the complete trust and support from the local community.”

Barhorst declined an offer to answer specific questions from the Urbana Daily Citizen regarding this matter in October of 2023 and again this week.

Once the state funds for the UYC expansion were held back in 2023, stipulations were placed on the release of the funds that included mandatory letters of support for the UYC from four community government entities, including the city of Urbana — which turned down UYC’s request to write a letter of support.

UYC founder and Executive Director Justin Weller said UYC requested the letter of support for its expansion project from the city of Urbana administration once new stipulations were placed on the release of state funding.

“We asked for a letter of support. The city administration said they had some questions. I responded and answered their questions. Then the city administration didn’t respond,” Weller explained. “I reached out again and they responded no. They offered no explanation.”

According to UYC’s statement about the project’s demise, “At that point, the expansion project was over a month behind schedule and, with no prospect of being able to move forward, the contractor hired in accordance with State of Ohio procedure, withdrew and assessed UYC with an approximately $140,000 cancellation and materials fee – based on project documentation.”

UYC officials said they had received capital funding twice in the past through the same process they attempted for the ill-fated expansion but were not required to get consent from Urbana’s city administration, according to previous funding applications and disbursement records on file at the UYC.

During the same time frame as the new stipulations on state funding for the UYC expansion were implemented in 2023, Weller faced criminal charges in the city of Urbana unrelated to the youth center. Weller’s business, Urbana Tomorrow LLC, owns properties in the city and rents space to tenants. A former tenant of Weller’s accused him of stealing the contents of a downtown apartment that Weller insisted the tenant had already vacated.

Urbana Municipal Prosecutor Mark Feinstein brought charges of criminal damaging, criminal trespassing and theft in August of 2023 against Weller in the dispute with the tenant. After charges were filed, Feinstein recused himself and a visiting prosecutor continued the case against Weller. In a bench trial in Champaign County Municipal Court in December of 2023, Weller was found guilty of theft. He was found not guilty of criminal trespassing and the charge of criminal damaging had been dropped prior to the bench trial. Weller was sentenced to a $300 fine plus court costs, a 30-day jail sentence that was suspended and a year of probation.

Weller appealed the conviction and it was reversed on July 3, 2024 by a state court of appeals including judges Christopher B. Epley, Jeffrey M. Welbaum and Ronald C. Lewis.

According to a journal entry regarding the reversal, the court concluded that Weller’s criminal conviction for theft was against the manifest weight of the evidence.