Part 2 of the Senior Center workshop went much better than Part 1 (Click Here). There was much more focus on what the residents wanted, although there were only about 40 people present, among them members of the Senior Advisory Board (including this year’s award winner Beverley Ford) and two Parks Commissioners (Loretta Herrin and Jim Rosenberg). Needless to say, Mayor Hamilton didn’t attend.
Several Themes Emerged
DON’T CALL IT A SENIOR CENTER
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There was large scale agreement that the center should not be called a “Senior” Center even though it might be designed to serve the needs of seniors. People wanted it to appeal to a variety of people, a “wide spectrum” that would engage people at all ages even if the design was more oriented to senior citizens. After all, seniors are a wide heterogeneous group. Take the well-regarded Murray Center in Mission Viejo. It is a “senior” center yet its name and mission involves a wider community.
MAKE IT FLEXIBLE
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People’s needs change. The new center should allow for maximum flexibility. This means it should be easy to move things around and to convert one type of space into another type of space. It also means that there needs to be lots of storage space so that things can be moved in and out of the way.
MAKE IT NATURAL
The space should make use of daylight, natural ventilation, solar power, etc. We should make maximum use of the ability to move in and out of the building. Exercise can happen inside and outside, arts and crafts can be done on a table inside a room or outside in the fresh air.
MAKE IT SAFE
Older people may not be so steady on their feet or see so well. The building needs to accommodate this, without looking like a hospital. Walking distances between areas should be short, exercise areas should have bars, entrance areas should be easily accessible and covered on those rare days that we have rain, etc.
MAKE IT SMART
Seniors nowadays are more technologically savvy and stay abreast of current affairs. A good center needs to provide opportunities for intellectual growth. We need a place where seniors can continue to learn.
The designers are now tasked with bringing back some concrete designs for people to look at. Stray tuned. No date has been announced yet.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.
Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be on March 26 at 2 pm at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.
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