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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br /> A Town-County Task Force was formed in August 1990 to examine needs for <br /> additional space for senior citizens in Southern Orange and especially in the Town of <br /> • , Chapel Hill where their growth has been dramatic. Made up of elected officials and <br /> citizen representatives from Orange County, Chapel Hill and Carrboro, the Task Force <br /> held five meetings, one a public forum attended by almost 150 persons. Three <br /> significant issues were identified: <br /> o Older adults, and especially those 80 and older, represent the fastest growing <br /> population segment in this area. (Chapel Hill's older adult population will more <br /> than double by the year 2000. ) <br /> o Public and private services ( e.g. leisure/education programs for seniors) have <br /> grown rapidly and many have had to compete for limited public space. <br /> o Activities and services are now scattered in several locations, making it difficult <br /> for people to know where to go for particular needs. <br /> These are some maior needs of older citizens: <br /> o A highly visible " focal point " facility to access varied services. <br /> o Adequate space for activities in Chapel Hill and reliable-available space in <br /> Carrboro. <br /> o Mechanisms to deal effectively with seniors' issues and concerns. <br /> o A place to go at any time for support and friendship. <br /> Recognizing these led the Task Force to conclude that it is vital to plan a <br /> comprehensive service delivery model. The coal should be to establish a senior <br /> citizen center network for the delivery of high quality services to all older adults. <br /> Such a network must address three critical planning considerations: (1) basic designs <br /> • for senior center facilities, (2) the diversity of the older population and services <br /> needed, and (3) various types of senior center programming. <br /> After their review of materials and visiting senior centers in this part of the <br /> state, and especially after listening to the November public forum input, the Task <br /> Force decided upon both short term and long term recommendations for the Southern <br /> Orange area: <br /> Short term strategies are to renew leasing space with the ArtsCenter in Carrboro <br /> and to lease additional space (4000-6000 sq ft) in Chapel Hill. Both of these would <br /> offer programs for active seniors; and the existing Northside Chapel Hill Center would <br /> be converted into an extended nutrition site and/or adult day health care facility for <br /> frail older persons. Staffing arrangements for the recreational components of the new <br /> Chapel Hill Center would be coordinated between Orange County and the Town of Chapel <br /> Hill through an inter-governmental performance agreement for both short term (next <br /> year) and long term programming. <br /> Lona term recommendations are these: <br /> o Orange County will construct at the already-approved Southern Orange Human <br /> Services Center a comprehensive Multipurpose Senior Resource Center (to be 15,000 <br /> sq ft) to serve both well and frail seniors: this will be the hub of the network <br /> for seniors. <br /> o Chapel Hill will add a section (10,000 sq ft) to the Community Center on Estes <br /> Dr. , designed to be the satellite Chapel Hill Senior Center. <br /> o Carrboro will construct a new community center to include a 5,000 sq ft section to <br /> be designed as the satellite Carrboro Senior Center. <br /> o Funding could be derived from both public and private sources. <br /> FN:TFSC-ES1.DOC <br />