Senior Task Force offers findings to Town Council on older adult needs
Neighborhood Center and a director are key points
Plan for aging population
By Nathan R. Huff
The Senior Task Force returned to the Town Council on May 1, offering up a number of suggestions to improve senior services in Los Gatos, but stopped short of asking for a dedicated senior facility--at least immediately.
John Lochner, chairman of the 21-member council-appointed committee, presented the report analyzing senior needs and the services available in Los Gatos and surrounding cities. The report also made a number of recommendations, including the hiring of a full-time director of adult services, renovating the Neighborhood Center to make it more "homey" and starting to plan a new older adult center.
"Down the road, in the long term, demographics show we are going to have a much larger older adult population than we do at the present time," Lochner, a former councilman said, "and there are going to be needs for these services."
Council members, who agreed to appoint a committee in December, warmed to the plan quickly, asking that the report be forwarded to the Community Services Commission for comment, as well as to the town manager for consideration in next fiscal year's budget.
"You're making recommendations to us that are very doable," councilman Joe Pirzynski said, thanking the task force for an "aggressive plan."
Faced with numbers that predict a doubling of the senior population over the next 50 years, other council members agreed on the importance of starting the smaller recommendations immediately.
"It's certainly appropriate to try and make changes now rather than waiting for a new building," councilman Jan Hutchins said following the meeting. "People are going over to Saratoga for services when we'd like them to feel like we're serving their needs, too."
Among the simpler recommendations is the revamping of the Neighborhood Center, which is supposed to be used mostly for senior services. According to the town's agreement with the funding agency, HUD's Community Block Development Grants, at least 51 percent of the facility is to be reserved for senior-related programs.
Task-force members suggested the center be repainted, a comfortable lounge and art gallery be created and automatic doors be installed at the entrance. They also suggested certain rooms be set aside as permanently dedicated to senior activities to cut down on the hauling of arts and crafts materials in and out of the building. As programs expand, the task force recommended town staff be relocated to the civic center.
"It sounds like the place is being underutilized," councilwoman Linda Lubeck later said. "From my perspective. I would like to see a staff analysis of what parts of the Neighborhood Center we can go ahead and dedicate to seniors."
Lubeck also said she would be open to exploring one of the task force's other major recommendations--the creation of a full-time director/coordinator of adult services. In order to avoid duplication of effort, the task force suggested the position be a cooperative effort between the town and the Los Gatos-Saratoga Department of Community Education and Recreation, which runs many of the existing senior programs. The coordinator would be responsible for promoting and marketing programs, organizing volunteers, developing budgets and working with other senior-oriented organizations.
The Task Force's other recommendations include hiring a case manager to assist seniors with challenges they face, including mental health issues, a page on the town website showing what services are available, a telephone listing of services and a building attendant to help set up and tear down activities between programs in multi-purpose rooms.
In addition to Lochner, those who served on the task force were Michael Abkin, Adu Bagley, Bob Best, Linda Brown, Clare Dudley, Eric Eberle, Michael Gill, Egon Jensen, Jens Kjemtrup, Deborah Kranefus, Karen Lorenz, Phil Loveless, Jonnie McKinney, Joyce Meurer, George Perazzo, Doris Prince, Fagie Rosen, Kathleen Russ, Lynette Vega and Shirley Voll.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
