Feb 18

Written by: ngreditor
2/18/2008 1:43 PM 

February 6, 2008

Community Club discusses Senior Center possibilities

Kenneth Purscell

In a meeting on February 1, the Community Club expressed an interest in brokering a negotiation whereby the physical plant of the Newman Grove Senior Center could become a community center for Newman Grove.

The negotiation would have to include the board of the Senior Center, the Community Club, and the City of Newman Grove.

Dennis Fowlkes, chair of the Community Club, recounted some of the history of the Club's attempts at establishing a community center facility. “We have had money sitting in an account for about twenty years now,” he said, “but it is only about $29 thousand.”

The Club does own property that it hoped at one time to develop, but “we will never raise the money for a completely new building without a grant of some kind,” he said. “I'd like to see us use the money to buy the Senior Center and turn it over to the City.”

As noted in last week's Reporter, the Senior Center is facing a difficult crisis. Participation numbers are down, grant money from the Northeast Area Agency on Aging is being reduced, and affiliation with the Agency may be at an end. The Center held a public meeting on January 23 to discuss four options presented by the Agency.

Three of those options involved placing the Newman Grove program under the control of the Albion Senior Center. The last option was closing the Newman Grove center and ceasing its program.

The Community Club's approach does offer another possibility. If the club bought the building outright, it could offer the Center some rental arrangement to continue services there. “The Senior Center would need priority over scheduling the noon hour during the week,” said Fowlkes. The hope is that this would cut the Center's maintenance and insurance costs. If the City ended up with ownership, it would have to negotiate this arrangement with the Senior Center.

The building does have advantages that the Community Club has been seeking in a community center: adequate parking, handicap access, restrooms, and a good kitchen. “They've put a lot of money into the building,” said Fowlkes. “It is very well cared for.”

Several people present noted that the current Senior Center has an attractive atmosphere. “People enjoy the homey feeling there,” said one woman.

Another possibility might be to have the members of the corporation that owns the building to deed it to the City directly. “In that case, our money could be used for expanding or improving the facility even more,” said Fowlkes.

“What people have to remember, though, is that this is not going to be something that makes money on its own,” he said. “It will be like the pool or the park, a service provided to the whole community.”

The Community Club could also deed its property to the City, or could sell it to an interested party. According to Fowlkes, there has been interest from individuals in purchasing both properties. “Selling the Senior Center that way would be a loss,” said Paul Cederlind, one of the Club members. “We really can't let it go.”

No matter who owns the building, its use as a community center would require some changes. Alcohol might have to be allowed and regulated. Dancing would have to be accommodated— and could be by using a portable dance floor. A building owned by the City could have a different name attached to it.

At this moment, though, no decisions have been made by any of the groups involved. The Community Club authorized further conversations with both the Senior Center and the City Council. Until formal negotiations take place, no action will happen on any of the options before the Senior Center, except for the withdrawal of funding support from the Area Agency.

In other business, Gene Wissenburg announced that Newman Grove will host the Community Builders tour of small town new businesses on Tuesday, February 26. “This is a group of people interested in development in small communities,” he said. “Each tour they visit one town, which gets to show off some of its new businesses and new ideas.”

His development team has drawn up a list of about a dozen new businesses to see in Newman Grove. “The tour will start at 5 pm and then end with supper at the City Cafe,” Wissenburg said. The cost will be $8 for the buffet dinner at the Cafe. People from the community are welcome to attend. “This is something we can take pride in.”

The Community Club also announced that Norwegian Days and the Shell Creek Valley Music Festival will be held on June 20-22 this year.