Seniors turn out for meeting
More than 50 discuss need for dedicated center
By Sandy Sims
When Jack Orlove was invited to a regular meeting of the Senior Consortium to discuss the notion that Los Gatos ought to have a dedicated senior center, he got the word out to the community. Only a handful of Los Gatans, however, joined those agency and program coordinators who make up the consortium. Last week, he called a meeting specifically to address the need for a senior center under one roof, and 50 to 60 residents, most of them older adults, showed up.
Orlove, a retired attorney who's been active in the community through the Kiwanis Club, took the initiative of spearheading a senior-center movement after he read a story in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times which suggested that, while the town funds a number of worthwhile programs for seniors, the community would be better served with a staffed senior center under one roof.
In the weeks since he's been involved, Orlove has talked with Town Council members and explored options, including the possibility of working with the Los Gatos Seniors Inc. and the West Valley Federated Women's Club, whose clubhouse at 550 Hubbell Way has served a diminishing number of seniors in the approximately 30 years since it was founded.
The house, left to the club by a former member, Henry Loose, is open only a few hours a week for games for some 11 seniors still involved. It's managed by the Women's Club, which is considering leasing the parking lot to a contractor who wants to turn it into paved parking. The house is in need of major repair.
Not everyone was enthusiastic about the Hubbell Way property, however.
Barbara Squire drew applause when she pointed out that a major problem with Henry Loose Hall is that it is not on a bus line. She suggested instead that they stick closer to home. "Why can't we just use this place?" she asked, referring to the Neighborhood Center, 208 E. Main St., where the Sept. 8 meeting was being conducted. Senior activities already take place at the center, and it houses a drop-in center for seniors.
The Neighborhood Center was built in the 1970s using Community Development Block Grant funds. At the time, the town stipulated that the center would be used at least 51 percent for seniors.
Orlove cautioned about getting too bogged down in details such as location, saying that the important thing at this point is to "get the Town Council energized about this." He said at least two council members are taking an active interest in the idea.
At the meeting, he also collected signatures on a petition asking the Town Council to appoint a commission to study the feasibility of a senior center. Orlove said he hoped to present the petition to the council in October, along with a letter listing what local seniors believe is needed for seniors in the town.
He asked that anyone who'd like to be involved or who has suggestions about how a senior center could best serve seniors to call him at 399-5297, or write him at 220 Dover St., Los Gatos, 95032.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
