Senior center votes in group

The formation of a new ad hoc committee to examine the relationship between the Costa Mesa Senior Center and the city was approved unanimously by the City Council on Tuesday, with Councilwoman Katrina Foley abstaining from the vote because of a business interest.

Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece, the council’s liaison to the Senior Center who has been embroiled in a heated dispute with the board and management of the center, voluntarily took herself out of the running to be one of the two council members on the committee.

Leece said she didn’t want her presence to be a distraction for the task force in light of months of fighting over the city’s role in the center. Her involvement over the past two years has been “very hard and frustrating,” she said.

According to Councilman Gary Monahan’s proposal, the committee will comprise seven members: two council members, two members of the center’s board of directors and three community representatives.

It will be a temporary committee focused on determining how the city can possibly help improve the center’s programs and services through providing it extra money and possibly hiring a professional fundraiser to assist in that goal.

“I’d like to look directly at the financial situation of the Senior Corporation and see if the city should be contributing in a more heavy way,” Monahan said.

The center is run by a private corporation, unlike most other local centers, but the city provides about one-third of the funding as well as practically free use of the building.

The staff report on the topic, which included a sampling of programs and services Costa Mesa’s senior center offers, shows that Costa Mesa has a large number of offerings when compared with surrounding centers; but to keep those offerings competitive with centers in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, Monahan said, the city might need to chip in a little more.

The city’s contract with the center expires in June 2010. If a bigger investment is to be made, it needs to be decided soon so that it can be included in upcoming budget proposals.

The Senior Center board still has to vote on whether it will partner with the city in the effort, but Board President Arlene Flanagan and Executive Director Aviva Goelman were both happy about the prospects of the committee.

“I’m amenable to working with the group,” Flanagan said, although she did not take for granted the rest of the board’s acceptance of the idea.

The group’s membership will be decided at an upcoming council meeting. Monahan said he would like to be one of the council representatives.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].