Park City seniors say they are quickly outgrowing the existing location and it could be another two years before a new center breaks ground.
The Park City Senior Center has hired its first executive director, and to meet its goal of transforming the center into the Wasatch Back’s best, a new facility is needed.
Park City Seniors board president Liz Novack said there are several applicants for spots on the review committee that will design a new center in the Mawhinney parking lot across from the Park City Library.
She said the committee selection should be finalized in August. And while what a new center looks like remains to be seen, the hope is that it will include everything Park City’s senior community needs.
“It's public space, it’s a larger dining facility, it's a game room, it's a private conference room, if you will, for seniors, if there is some health screenings going on that we offer some privacy to our seniors,” Novack said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” July 28. “There's some counseling sections that we would like to have as part of the building, a fitness room, an art room. I mean, the list goes on and on.”
She says the options in terms of square footage are still on the table.
“I know part of the proposal that went out to the design team did include looking at a minimum of 10,000 (square feet) but I want to be real clear about that,” she said. “That square footage has not been determined. Some of us are looking at a square footage of 15,000 (square feet) so again, we’re still exploring those options. There is nothing definitive at this particular point in time.”
For now, the plan is that this will be a stand-alone senior center with no housing for seniors. She said it will likely be another couple of years before a groundbreaking could happen.
Novack has said that it is not a fundraising organization but will certainly do what it can to secure funding for the new building. Summit County, she says, recently provided some funds to hire a grant writer to help find additional funds to support their staff, programs and activities.
“It is a challenge,” she said. “We’re not in the position right now of fundraising for a new building, but anything that we can do associated with making sure that capital outlay improvements are part of that new senior center, we will be there to support. As a matter of fact, we just submitted our proposed budget to Summit County. Summit County is in the process of formulating their budget, which won't be approved until December, but they've already begun the process.”
The proposal asks the county to set aside funds for capital outlay items that will be needed in the new center as well as hiring additional personnel.
Park City Municipal eventually plans to develop the Woodside Avenue property where the current center sits into affordable housing when the new facility is complete.
