Agenda - 05-05-1997 - 10b - Laserfiche WebLink

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29 MINORITY REPORT RELATIVE TO CHAPEL HILL SENIOR CENTER Of the 19 items on the table for the final voting of the Task Force, only one did not receive either full or partial funding. That was the Chapel Hill Senior Center. If the Commissioners follow the recommendations regarding other County Senior Centers,the Chapel Hill Center will be the only one which will not be county owned. Senior Centers did not warrant much detailed discussion by the Task Force. Understandably, the major interest was in public schools, as indicated by a third of the group being school board members(7 out of 22). I was the only person who voiced any advocacy about the inclusion of the Chapel Hill Center, but it was awkward to be very vocal while serving as Chair and seeking to be sensitive to the will of the whole group. It was apparent from the beginning that some of the Task Force members were interested only in schools. I think that after the Task Force meeting at the Chapel Hill Senior Center, some members were of the impression that we HAVE a fine Center in Chapel Hill. In fact, we do not have a Center; we LEASE one. We have absolutely no assurance that after four years there will be a Senior Center in Chapel Hill. Unlike any of the other Centers,the Chapel Hill Center was initiated by local seniors who have given of their time, talent, and financial resources to bring it into being. All of the cost of uplifting the facility was funded privately(approximately$250,000). On an on- going basis, local seniors raise an annual budget of about$80,000, and out of this pay a third of the county's monthly rental cost(total lease payments to date are $481,219, and $156,356 of this has come from contributions or fund raising by Chapel Hill seniors). Recently, seniors raised$40,000 to complete the suite of offices for county employees in the mezzanine space. If we lose this Center, I fear that local seniors who have invested so much in it will be demoralized beyond a willingness to begin all over again. What are the options? I. We could hope that the Galleria will not be sold to someone else and that at the end of our lease in the year 2001 we will be able to renew it under favorable conditions.. It is clear, however,that the present owner will insist on a substantial raise beyond the current annual payment of approximatel $92,000.(By the last year of the lease in 2001,the annual payment will be $112,000.) II. Full payment of$3,000,000 could be a part of the bond package to purchase the Galleria, as recommended by the Advisory Committee to the Orange County Department on Aging. III. Partial payment for the purchase of the Galleria could be included in the November 27