"They needed a receptionist and I wanted to help," she said. "Little by little I became a senior."

LeMat, 88, has many fond memories of the facility located in the Saratoga Civic Center on Allendale Avenue. She says she met the love of her life at the center several years ago. Her love, Harry Schwartz, died last year.

But LeMat still likes to visit the senior center whenever she can.

"I always encourage people to go there and take part in the various classes and activities that they offer," she said.

Fran Wasserman, another senior, said that she has never felt lonely at the center. "Everyone is always welcome," she said.

There are many like LeMat and Wasserman in Saratoga, many who have found a second home at the senior center.

The Saratoga Area Senior Coordinating Council, however, feels that they are not reaching enough of the elderly population in Saratoga.

"We serve about 10 percent of the senior population in the city. We would like to reach at least 20 percent," said Genie Dee, executive director of SASCC.

The center currently has 725 members. Any resident 55 and over can become a member or take part in one of its programs. According to the 2000 Census, there are more than 8,500 people in Saratoga who fit into that category. In 1990, there were about 7,500 residents in the city age 55 and over.

In comparison, the senior center in Cupertino has nearly 2,000 members though anyone 50 and over can become a member there. There are 9,973 residents in the 55 and over age range in Cupertino, according to the 2000 Census.

Some Saratoga seniors said that they are too busy with their lives to go to the senior center.

"I'm still working. I travel quite a bit and I don't feel old," said Dorothy Marian, 60, who works as a registered nurse at Stanford University.

Lou Sullivan, 85, has lived in Saratoga since the 1960s. She has never been to the center either.

"I just don't have the time," she said.

Dee feels that the senior center needs to expand the range of programs it offers to attract more people.

"We organized an Asian American focus group recently. We need to do more marketing to reach out to that community," Dee said.

She plans to offer English language classes for the senior Asian American population in the city.

But Dee said that the expansion can only happen if the senior center has more space for classes and activities.

The senior center operates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and has an approximate area of 6,750-square feet.

John Feemster, president of SASCC, said that the center has advertised its classes less and less in recent years to avoid overcrowding.

"Sometimes seniors might not be able to sign up for a class because it is full," he said.

The Saunders Room, with an area of about 1,900-square feet, is the center's largest facility. It is used for exercise, dancing, games, dinners and art classes.

Line dancing, square dancing, yoga and fitness classes are some of the activities offered in the facility. The center also offers periodic health check-ups and financial advice during tax season.

SASCC also runs an adult day care center that serves seniors who are frail and need more looking after. The day care center also provides lunch to its clients, besides helping seniors keep busy with games and other forms of entertainment.

A modular building, set up some years ago, is mostly used as a computer room. Another area of the same building is used for meetings and crafts.

According to Dee, it's not enough.

"All our facilities are overcrowded," she said. "I've been talking to the West Hope Church for the use of some of their facilities."

The council, a non-profit organization, was formed in 1979 to offer activities for seniors who live in the area. The senior center was established the next year when the city received a federal grant to build an addition to the city's civic center.

Currently, the city provides the facilities for the center and helps maintain it.

SASCC is funded by an endowment it received many years ago. A piece of property left to the organization was sold and the money invested. "We do not spend the actual amount, only the interest we get from it," said Feemster.

The center also organizes fund-raisers several times a year. "We have dinners and pledge drives. We raise between $3,000 and $5,000 at each of these events," he said.

A yearly membership to the center costs $25.

According to Feemster, it takes about $400,000 annually to run the center. "Roughly 60 percent of that goes into paying salaries," he said.

The senior center has 13 employees but many of them work part-time. "We also pay our instructors, though many of them are volunteers," he said.

Since February, when the city council voted to sell the North Campus, a group of senior center members have campaigned relentlessly to convince the city to refrain from selling the property on Prospect Road.

Dee said that it would be ideal if the seniors had the use of the North Campus. "It is a beautiful piece of property," she said.

Opinion is divided amongst seniors when it comes to the North Campus.

LeMat said that the Prospect Road property is too far away. "I feel that I am a part of the city here. The North Campus seems like it is outside of Saratoga. I wouldn't like to move there," she said.

Wasserman, on the other hand, feels that moving to the campus will help SASCC serve the seniors better. "It is a huge piece of property with trees and grass. There's a lot of parking space, too," she said.

Peggy Corr, another senior, said that there is always a demand for more space at the senior center. "It would be great if the North Campus is preserved for community uses," she said.

"But if the North Campus is sold, we are very interested in Vice Mayor Norman Kline's idea of putting in an addition to the civic complex so that the seniors have more space," Dee said. "It will be better than what we have now though it won't solve the parking problem."

Kline, while arguing passionately to sell the North Campus, has also advocated the building of a new facility at the city's civic complex.

"If we get $6 million from the sale of the North Campus, we can invest about $1 million in facilities that can be used by the seniors and the recreation department. The rest of the money can go into a sinking fund for infrastructure maintenance," Kline said.

He also said that the existing space at the center needs to be used more efficiently.

"There is a need for more multi-purpose rooms. Some of the rooms can be sub-divided," he said. "Even the existing parking area can be laid out in a more efficient manner so that there is more space."

He suggested that groups in need of more space can look into using the community room at the Saratoga Library or the new meeting room at the Saratoga Fire Station.

Feemster feels that adding on to the existing facility on Allendale Avenue will only help temporarily.

"Clearly the parking lot there is overcrowded. Also, most seniors are not the best of drivers," he said.

Councilwoman Ann Waltonsmith said that she is willing to look at Kline's idea but also felt that parking would be an issue. "We will need a two-story parking garage there," she said.

Feemster said that the North Campus seems like a much more attractive place for the seniors. "We need a long term solution because the civic center cannot grow after a point," he said.

Kline thinks that one solution could be to include senior services as part of city programs sometime in the future. "Every other city in the area offers senior services as part of city programs," he said, adding that it would lead to better integration and sharing of existing space.

But that is in the future. Kline thinks that it will take at least four or five years and a better economic climate for that to happen. In the meantime, SASCC is doing what it can to better its financial prospects.

"We're in the middle of a grant application to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation," Dee said.