Laserfiche WebLink
REPORT <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From the City Manager <br /> <br />May 21, 2018 <br /> <br />SUBJECT <br />Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center – YMCA Project Schematic Design <br /> <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />By motion: <br />1. Approve Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center- YMCA Project Schematic <br />Design <br />2. Direct staff to negotiate with ELS Architecture for Phase III Services, where the <br />scope of work includes Design Development and Construction Documents, and <br />further study of traffic calming concepts <br />3. Direct staff to continue progressing through CEQA as there was a pause until <br />schematic design was completed <br />BACKGROUND <br />The Veterans Memorial Senior Center (VMSC) is a valued community asset which houses <br />dozens of senior clubs; hosts hundreds of free or low-fee programs each year; receives <br />over 100,000 annual visits; and serves as a “second home” for many of our honored senior <br />citizens in Redwood City, including our Veterans. However, the circa-1956 VMSC building <br />is deteriorating; the campus encompasses four separate buildings which segregates <br />program participants and social interaction opportunities; and the adjacent Herkner Pool is <br />outdated, is deteriorating, and the facility allows little flexibility due to its design. Staff has <br />worked to properly maintain these facilities while trying to satisfy current users and attract <br />new constituents. Some challenges include: the number of buildings make it very costly to <br />maintain; there is no central welcoming center; the program space has excessive wear- <br />and-tear and is too spread out; there is no physical access from the Center to Herkner <br />Pool; the Senior Center Annex electrical capacity is at its limit; and staff is finding it more <br />difficult to attract younger seniors to the Center. <br /> <br />Staff and the Senior Affairs Commission (SAC) spent two years gathering input about the <br />needs for a replacement building, seeking user perspectives on what was working, what <br />wasn’t working, and desires for a new building. On April 26, 2010, the City Council <br />accepted the “Senior Center Scoping Study” that included the collection of data, the <br />consideration of program requirements, and the scope and magnitude of a new Center. <br />8.A. - Page 1