Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Anik Jhaveri, an architect with Anderson Brulé Architects of San Jose, presents a flow chart to one of the community center focus groups who participated in sessions last week looking at changes and renovations in the community center. At right is Dorothy Friel of the Senior Center advisory board.
Rec department holds focus groups on community center
By Kara Chalmers
Creating a community center that would be connected, both geographically and more abstractly, to the larger community of Saratoga was one of the main ideas that came out of the focus-group meetings the recreation department held Feb. 16.
Besides focus groups, Recreation Director Joan Pisani had set up "benchmark tours" of community centers in Milpitas, Foster City, Cupertino, Redwood City and the Berryessa neighborhood in San Jose, to get ideas for a possible brand-new community center in Saratoga.
In October, the Parks and Recreation Commission recommended that the City Council allocate park development funds for the renovation of Saratoga's Community Center on Allendale Avenue, which was built in 1968. Commission members arrived at their figure--$1.3 million--after choosing between different options that an architecture firm, Anderson Brulé Architects, came up with.
The $1.3 million the commission proposed would fund a middle option, a renovation but not a complete teardown. When the commission recommended it, some council members thought the amount might be too little. Councilman Nick Streit was concerned that the recommended allocation might not be enough to serve all the future needs of the community center. He said he was concerned that within a few years, the center would run out of space again. So the council decided to put off a decision until the city could look into financing a completely new building, estimated at that time to cost $4.4 million.
The architecture firm is scheduled to make a presentation to the City Council on March 21. At that meeting, the architects will present a model, or ideal, of what the community would like in a center. Administrative Services Director Mary Jo Walker will also present different ways the city could finance a project, according to Pisani
The benchmark tours and the focus-group meetings are the preliminary part of the firm's process. "Now their work begins," Pisani said of the architects.
The focus groups went well, according to Pisani. The first group mainly included community center users and staff. The group outlined all the things they would like to have in a center.
The second meeting was made up of members of the planning community, including the Saratoga Fire District chief and the community development director. Councilman Nick Streit also attended this meeting. The group discussed more of the constraints that might be imposed on any project, in terms of geographic and other city constraints.
The third meeting was made up of stakeholders, which included the postmaster from across the street, the Saratoga head librarian, representatives of the senior center, SASCC board members, representatives of West Valley College and Sacred Heart School and Church and members of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission.
Pisani said the focus groups are a way to involve people in the Saratoga community from the beginning.
"We're not here to solve or resolve anything," said facilitator Sam McBane from Anderson Brulé. "We're here to capture."
One of the ideas that came out of the meetings was the creation of a city "hub" where city buildings would be easily accessible on foot and interconnected by pathways. Plans to ensure that all community center services, such as adult day care, continue during any construction was a big priority of the stakeholders.
Anderson Brulé will not necessarily be the firm to which the city will award the design contract.
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