Saratoga News Photograph by Scott Lechner Youngsters at the preschool at the Saratoga Community Center line up to wash their hands before having a snack. There are some 200 children on the waiting list to enroll. Community Center upgrades are studied By Steve Enders Walking through Saratoga's Community Center on any given day reveals a multitude of people enrolled in a variety of programs; in one way or other, most are working to better themselves while receiving attention from dedicated, hard-working staff. It's no wonder the center is, quite literally, bursting at the seams. Sometimes during the week, the community center and its affiliates are virtually overwhelmed as the small staff attempts to meet the demand that's constantly pushing the center to the limits of what it can hold. A volunteer podiatrist prepares to give a group of seniors foot exams after their morning workout in the only space he can find--a storage closet. In another room on the other side of the building, daycare teachers watch the children closely so their charges don't open the door and run out into the front parking lot. Nearby, parents waiting for their daughters to finish dance classes sit in an uncomfortable and awkward area next to loudly humming vending machines. According to the city's Parks and Recreation director Joan Pisani, the center's preschool has a waiting list of nearly 200. The preschool now cares for approximately 40 children--18 at a time in different shifts, in a room not much larger than a very small house. The Parks and Recreation Department and the commission that oversees it are locked in a struggle to find a way to build new playfields in the city. The issue has taken center stage in some community circles, and is certainly occupying most of the staff's time. But the people running the community center are quietly finding a way to give themselves more of what they need--space. Ultimately, everyone there would like more room so there's not as much elbow-bumping every day. At the least, they'd like an upgrade of the most basic necessities, including new air conditioning and heating, water pipes, cabinets and carpeting. Pisani will present a needs assessment survey, recently completed by Anderson Brulé Architects Inc., to the Parks and Recreation Commission at its next meeting. She hopes the board will accept the survey, and allow the process to move into its next phase, which includes a cost assessment to take place on one of three options spelled out in the report. The first option, and most likely to move ahead, is a very limited renovation including replacing heating and air conditioning units, and re-carpeting the building and repainting. The second option includes remodeling the interior of much of the building, adding some space to the floor plan and upgrading the same amenities. The third, which isn't even on the proposed plan and isn't being taken too seriously, is to knock down the entire 30-year-old structure and start from scratch. In all, the city only has about $500,000 from its development fund earmarked for the community center renovation. All fees charged by the center go into staff salaries and running the programs. At a 1996 Parks and Recreation task force meeting, community members were asked to allocate more than $116 million in play money to various programs and services they'd like to see in Saratoga. Coming in at number one, and receiving $21 million as a result of the exercise, was renovation and expansion of the community center. A year later, Parks and Recreation Commission, using real dollars, dedicated the playfields issue as the number-one priority to receive funding. The item has been moved down the priority list, but certainly not forgotten. Pisani is confident that the commission will approve moving forward with renovation, and will then have to go before the City Council to hire someone to estimate the various costs associated with whatever option it decides to pursue. The community center was built in the 1960s, and was first used as a youth center. It was changed to a "community center" later on to more accurately reflect changing needs of the community, Pisani says. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, February 10, 1999. ©1999 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.