Senior center directors delay call on committee

The board of directors of the Costa Mesa Senior Center unanimously voted Tuesday morning to defer its decision on whether to join the City Council in forming a committee to examine the center’s contract.

Costa Mesa’s Senior Center is run by a private corporation that is directed by a board made up of volunteers, but a significant portion of its funding and its Westside building come from the city.

Councilman Gary Monahan thinks the city might want to invest more in the center and he proposed the committee, which was recently approved by the City Council, to talk about the contract the city has with the center that expires in the middle of next year.

“I believe that we can be more involved financially in the center,” Monahan told the board.

As Monahan outlined, the committee would comprise two city council members, two center board members and three representatives from the community.

The board decided to hold off on deciding whether it was going to accept the proposal. Board members will be polled separately to determine whether they are supportive of the committee and whether they would want to take part. At its February meeting, the center’s executive committee will decide on an action and recommend it to the full board for approval.

Some board members and the center’s executive director, Aviva Goelman, had concerns about the committee’s focus and composition

“If we pick people from the community, it’s important that we have people who don’t have a bias one way or another,” Goelman said.

A few suggested that the board should have a say in the task force’s membership instead of the council unilaterally choosing the community representatives — an idea that Monahan said could be considered.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.