Support seen for community center

Deepa Bharath

Several community members attended a town hall meeting on Tuesday

night to express their opinions about using Santa Ana Heights’

redevelopment funds for a regional community center.

Newport Beach City Manager Homer Bludau, who was one of the

panelists at the forum organized by the Santa Ana Heights Project

Advisory Committee, a community committee, said a majority of the

people at Tuesday’s meeting spoke in support of building the

$11.5-million community center, which the county would fund with

redevelopment money.

In question is whether the center will continue to be run by the

YMCA, which has operated in that location for more than 30 years.

Bludau said the city believes that “the Y is a very viable option”

to operate the center. But he added that plans to include the YMCA

still need to be firmed up.

The city plans to purchase the property within two to three

months, Bludau said.

“But the question is, what kind of a community center do Santa Ana

Heights residents want?” he said.

He said that although several people support it, he said there is

more outreach to be done.

“We’ll have at least one or two more community meetings to make

sure we’ve heard from a majority of the residents,” he said.

But Santa Ana Heights resident Russell Niewiarowski said he and

his neighbors who live west of Irvine Avenue do not want the

community center because they do not believe it is a good use of the

redevelopment funds.

“What they’re doing is taking half of our redevelopment funds and

setting [them] aside for a lavish facility, which is nothing more

than a glorified health club,” he said.

Niewiarowski said he and his neighbors would like to see the money

used to address “serious problems” such as blighted neighborhoods, a

lack of code enforcement and buildings taken over by slumlords.

“This center would be far from where we are,” he said. “It

wouldn’t work for us as a community center.”

But there are others, such as Costa Mesa resident Julia Cross, who

use the YMCA almost every day and would like to see it developed and

expanded.

Cross, who heads the YMCA’s running club, said she would be

disappointed if the YMCA were to leave the community as a result of

redevelopment.

“They have a lot of great programs, including an extensive

aquatics program and physical therapy for seniors and kids,” she

said. “They allow people to walk along the Back Bay, and their child

care rates are very reasonable.”

The YMCA is hoping to work with the city to develop the building

and expand its programs, said Joyce Hyde, membership director.

“Our building is really old, and we’re looking to get a new roof,”

she said. “This would be really good for us because it would make it

a nicer facility and we can continue to service the community.”

Hyde said the center will also serve as a “meeting place.”

“There’s no community center in this area,” she said. “It’ll be a

great place for people to meet and get together.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.