AgdaPkt 2010-04-26 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I . I I I I 7A REPORT To the Honorable Mayor and City Council From the Cit Mana er April 26, 2010 SUBJECT Vision for Replacement of the Veterans Memorial Senior Center RECOMMENDATION Information only. Receive the Senior Center Scoping Study as presented by the Senior Affairs Commission and the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission. r ' I BACKGROUND The Veterans Memorial Senior Center (VMSC) is a valued community asset which houses dozens of senior clubs; hosts hundreds of free or low-fee programs each year; provides for over 100,000 visits each year; and serves as a "second home" for many of our honored senior citizens in Redwood City, including our Veterans. However, the circa 1956 VMSC building has long been showing its age. The roof needs to be replaced; the theater needs to be remodeled - but would require asbestos abatement; the kitchenettes need updating; the flooring is antiquated; and the plumbing needs to be upgraded. Additionally, the old 4ger Building (Senior Center Annex), the Resource Building, and Herkner Pool are all in various stages of deterioration and/or obsolescence. Staff has done their best to properly maintain these facilities while trying to satisfy current users and attract new constituents. Some challenges include: the number of buildings makes it very costly to maintain; there is no central welcoming center; the program space has excessive wear-and-tear and is too spread out; there is no physical access from the Center to Herkner Pool; the Senior Center Annex electrical capacity is at its limit; and Staff is finding it more difficult to attract younger seniors to the Center. "Our Seniors deserve better". Staff and the Senior Affairs Commission (SAC) proposed that message to numerous senior groups over the past two years with the intent of gathering initial input about the needs for a replacement building. We wanted to hear what was working, what wasn't working, what is needed, and what is wanted from the users themselves. With the collection of data and consideration of program requirements in hand, we then needed to identify the scope and magnitude of the new Center. Through an interview process, we then hired Lauren Livingston of The Sports Management Group to compile a "Scoping Study" for the future facility. The Scoping Study (Attachment A) defines the vision for the replacement of the Veterans Memorial Senior Center: · It is a culmination of the data collection and the public outreach process initiated by the Senior Affairs Commission in 2007 · It provides a "best practices" and demographic environmental scan · It captures input from Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PRCS) Staff, numerous reviews and joint meetings between the Senior Affairs Commission and the PRCS Commission; as well as input from City Engineering staff. At their last joint study session on Wednesday, February 24, 2010, both the SAC and the PRCS Commission approved the Scoping Study for the replacement of the Veterans