September 01, 2009
El Centro Breaks Ground On Adult Community Center
El Centro city officials break ground on new Adult Community Center
The groundbreaking ceremony for a new adult activity center in El Centro is one sign the city is weathering the economic pressures that are forcing other cities to curtail services and close facilities.
"It shows the commitment by the community, the council, the city staff to actually go out and accomplish what it is expected to do, which is to provide proper services to the community, without continually raising taxes to the community."
- El Centro City Councilmember Jon EdneyAccording to city officials, the ceremony at the El Centro Community Center on First Street in came after five years of planning, applying for grants, canvassing the community for citizen input, and scouting other cities to see what amenities their adult community centers included.
The 4,000 square foot facility will cater to adults with computer terminals, reading areas, and community rooms.
Ruben Duran, the El Centro city manager, said the new addition to the community was designed with the needs of adults and senior citizens in mind.
"By adding this 4,000 square feet, it really sets up area separate from a shared facility that allows adults to do some of the things that they prefer," Duran said. "For example, it will have a kiln it will have its own kitchen, it will have reading areas, areas that are a little more quiet, a little more controlled."
Duran said the funding for the facility came from grants, and redevelopment agency bonds that were issued two years ago. Those funds are also going towards financing a new fire station and refurbishing another city owned building.
El Centro Mayor Ben Solomon, as well as El Centro city councilmembers Cheryl-Viegas Walker, Jon Edney, and Sedalia Sanders also attended the groundbreaking.
Solomon and the other city council members praised the work of El Centro city staff in shepherding the project along over the last few years.
“It shows the commitment by the community, the council, the city staff to actually go out and accomplish what it is expected to do, which is to provide proper services to the community, without continually raising taxes to the community,” said Edney.
Viegas-Walker said the city is now in a position to continue provide services and develop facilities, such as the new fire station on the city's north side, partly because of some economic issues the city faced in the early part of the decade.
“I think that one of the things that helped us in 20-20 hindsight, were the difficulties the city encountered in early 2002 and 2003,” said Viegas-Walker. “ And that was truly a wake up call that we needed to become very fiscally conservative both in terms of staffing, expenditures, and new projects. We needed a new pay-as-you-go attitude --- so that we can realize successful events like this addition for the adult center.”
Contruction on the project is expected to begin in the next few weeks. El Centro city officials say the facility is expected to open in late 2009 or the spring of 2010.
To view the city of El Centro Web site, click HERE