Council suggests ‘Senior Center in Central Park’ as name for new facility

The Huntington Beach City Council put in its 2 cents Monday on a possible name for the new senior center being built at Central Park.

Councilman Erik Peterson brought up the topic to give him and his colleagues a chance to weigh in on naming the 37,563-square-foot facility, which is expected to be finished by fall 2016. Such naming is typically done by the Community Services Commission.

The council voted unanimously Monday to back Councilman Dave Sullivan’s suggestion that the commission call it “Senior Center in Central Park.”

Board members of the Huntington Beach Council on Aging suggested the name “Senior Center in the Park.”

“My original thought was to name it after Councilman Sullivan,” Peterson said. “It is one of those things where he’s put in decades serving this community, like many have, but he has been in on the forefront on helping the seniors, the impoverished … and veterans.”

Community Services Director Janeen Laudenback said that for a city facility to be named after a person, the idea must be approved by the Community Services Commission and the City Council.

The existing Rodgers Seniors Center was named after Michael E. Rodgers, who, like Sullivan, was a primary advocate for building a senior center in the city.

Sullivan joked that he would settle for a restroom in the new facility being named after him.