Countywide : Agencies Seek Funds to Spend on Senior Centers

In Cypress, senior citizens meet in the cafeteria of a closed elementary school. In Santa Ana, a senior citizens’ center downtown “is filled to capacity.” In Tustin, older residents don’t have a center they can call their own.

Cypress, Santa Ana and Tustin are but a handful of cities preparing to apply for a new grant available under a state senior center bond act.

The cities and organizations looking to build new centers or expand present facilities offer each other stiff competition.

Of several cities contacted, only Fullerton is asking for a grant of less than $900,000. Fullerton’s request for $150,000 is the result of considerable trimming by City Council members, who called the city’s original $1.5-million request “ridiculous.”

“I was horrified that we were asking for 45% of the county budget (for such projects),” said Councilwoman Molly McClanahan. “The $1.5 million is overkill.”

Orange County was allocated $3.3 million for senior citizen facilities as its share of a one-time bond act approved by California voters last November.

Instead of asking for a grant that would have translated into a “brand-new, multiservice center,” Fullerton will request $150,000 to remodel the kitchen and replace 30-year-old equipment at the Maple Community Center at Lemon Park, according to Ron Hagan, Fullerton Community Services Department director.

Amounts to be granted will be up to the Area Agency on Aging Senior Services, Director Peggy Weatherspoon said.

More than 30 agencies or individuals picked up grant applications they must return by Aug. 15, Weatherspoon said.

Among those applying are:

Cypress, which wants a grant of between $800,000 and $900,000 for renovation and expansion of the Cypress Senior Citizen Center at 9031 Grindley St. The changes at the center, housed in a closed elementary school, would include a game room, an exercise room and a day-care center for senior citizens, said Marvin DeCarlo, Recreation and Parks District director.

Santa Ana, which is seeking a $900,000 grant to partially subsidize a $1.5-million project that city officials and senior citizens have been working on for three years, according to Lenny Wiggs, community services supervisor. With the grant, Santa Ana officials would build a 9,000-square-foot center at the corner of Center Street and MacFadden Avenue. The downtown Santa Ana Senior Citizen Center is “filled to capacity,” Wiggs said.

Tustin, which is applying for a $1.2-million grant to build a center at Peppertree Park in downtown Tustin. With the city committed to paying $775,000 for the land and a private group looking for additional funds, “we’re very serious about this,” said Royleen White, community and administrative services director.