The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Helen DeWolf surveys the 600 signatures collected so far in support of a new senior center.

Seniors petition city for new center

By Justin Berton

More than 600 Sunnyvale senior citizens have signed a petition to pressure the city into building a new senior center after the city's proposals fell short of their needs, according to organizers of the petition.

"If we're going to have a senior center, it should be a good one and a big one," said Helen DeWolf, originator of the petition and chairperson of the newly created Advisory Committee for a New Sunnyvale Senior Center.

DeWolf plans to pack City Council chambers with supporters at the July 28 meeting, when the council is scheduled to choose from one of 10 suggested options.

DeWolf and other seniors are upset that the city's preliminary proposals didn't include a stand-alone site strictly for seniors. The proposals, which are still being refined, focus mainly on adding space to the multiuse Sunnyvale Community Center on Remington Drive.

If seniors are forced to share space with other organizations, the resources available for the growing number of senior citizens would be inadequate, said Ron Swegles, a volunteer commissioner for Parks and Recreation and supporter of the petition.

"We're not looking three years down the road," Swegles said. "We're doing what Sunnyvale is notorious for--we're looking 10 to 20 years down the road."

John Lawrence, leisure services manager for the Parks and Recreation Department, which oversees the current senior center, said the city plans to include one stand-alone site in its report to the council.

But such a site would require locating a 7.8-acre parcel within city limits.

"It's going to be difficult to find that kind of land in the city of Sunnyvale," Lawrence said.

Ron Walker, director of Parks and Recreation, said the city hasn't reached a dollar figure for the new senior center since the proposals are still being drafted.

DeWolf's group is calling on the city to build a 25,000-square-foot building next to the Community Center on city-owned land.

Last year, Lawrence said, the city hired a landscape architect to scout the land, which runs along an orchard, but found the lot suitable for only a 14,000- to 17,000-square-foot facility.

DeWolf said she would not want to tear into orchard land to make way for a senior center.

"That's sacred," she said.

But the need for a spacious facility is being seriously considered by all parties, given the expected population explosion in the 55-and-over age bracket.

A report put together by five local county agencies last year found that Santa Clara County has the highest number of senior citizens of any Bay Area county.

From 1990 to 2010, the report projects, the number of senior citizens in the Bay Area will increase by 93 percent, from 242,000 to 467,000.

"We expect the same here," Lawrence said.

DeWolf said the city should look to the new senior center in Pleasanton to draw inspiration.

"The baby boomers are right on our heels," DeWolf said. "They're going to want a nice place."

The Pleasanton facility offers a large circular driveway, a spacious lobby area and high-end furnishings.

DeWolf said the center should be aesthetically pleasing to give seniors a reason to leave their houses and join in social activities. The need for a new center began when the staff of the Multi-Purpose Senior Center on McKinley Avenue was notified by its landlord--the Sunnyvale Elementary School District--that rent would be increased to match market price once the 15-year lease expired on July 1, 1997. Rather than continue to pay the increased rent, the city decided the timing was right to relocate and began drawing up proposals six months ago.

DeWolf said one of the proposals she saw included a two-story building attached to the community center.

"Half of the seniors can't even climb up their front stairs," she said of the two-story building. "That's a little ridiculous."

If the City Council accepts the proposal to add on to the community center, DeWolf said she would shake her head and ask, "What can you do?"

Last week the petition passed the 600 mark, nearing her goal of 1,000 signatures.

"I heard if you get to 1,000, [the City Council] will listen to you," DeWolf said.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, May 6, 1998.
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