SOUNDING OFF:

I teach seniors and baby boomers at Rodgers Senior Center several times a week. My classes are always full, but the room is not large enough to accommodate all the students.

In response to the Oct. 16 article, “Use the senior center we have,” I support the proposed new Senior Center at Goldenwest Street and Talbert Avenue. The older-than-50 age group is the largest growing demographic in the country, as well as in Huntington Beach.

Huntington Beach is a prosperous city. We have exceptional hotels, beautiful beaches, great restaurants, and we attract visitors from all over the country and the world.

It is shameful that our very prosperous city has a senior center at 17th Street and Orange Avenue in an old rehabilitated 1940s building that needs major repair. It has no air conditioning and no heat. It does not adequately serve the growing baby boomer and senior demographic. It is a disgrace and does not fit into the image of what Huntington Beach is and should be.

The proposed location is the geographic center of the city and is served by an existing bus line. It will enhance our city just as the Central Library, across the street, and the Art Center on Main Street have.

All the surrounding cities, such as Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley and Westminster, have new and improved Community and Senior Centers.

Our seniors and baby boomers are vital and productive members of our community.

The seniors in our community are the very people who have contributed to the development of the library and the Art Center.

The proposed site can also be used as a multigenerational facility, and the parking and meeting rooms can be shared by existing community groups like the Friends of Shipley Nature Center.

Devoting five acres of this park to the new community and senior center will enhance Huntington Beach. No soil remediation is needed, and the site accommodates a one-story building, which will be environmentally sensitive, and the surrounding plant species will be selected by the Friends of Shipley Nature Center.

I sincerely hope this council will see the value of a new and enhanced community and senior center for Huntington Beach residents, who over the years have contributed to the expansion and growth of our beautiful city.

What facilities will those against the center have if they persist in their opposition and oppose the wishes of the majority of the citizens who voted for this very worthwhile project?

Voters were not mislead by Measure T; they knew what they were voting for and the measure passed. I hope that the members of the City Council will see this project to completion and comply with the wishes of the majority of their citizens. Huntington Beach will then have another proud accomplishment which will bring the city into the 21st century.

Vote for Keith Bohr, Don Hansen and Devin Dwyer for City Council: friends of seniors in Huntington Beach

RENÉ BURTON has been a resident of Huntington Beach for more than 40 years and is a credentialed adaptive physical education teacher for adult education.