In a limited, trial merger, the Recreation Department partners with the Palm Harbor Senior Activity Center.
By MEGAN SCOTT
Published May 5, 2003
PALM HARBOR - Inside the Palm Harbor Senior Activity Center, a group of children dance on one side of the room, while on the other side, some older women play bridge.
For the next year, at least, it is a scene that will become more commonplace at the center, which opened in 1999 and has survived mainly on donations, membership fees and a thrift shop.
The Palm Harbor Community Services Agency recently approved a one-year probationary merger between the center and the Palm Harbor Parks and Recreation Department. That means more seniors and children will dance and play bingo side by side.
"We'll now be able to access places for indoor programming, which we have not been able to do up to now," said Terry Lannon, director of parks and recreation. "We currently don't have any space for programming."
The Recreation Department will gain about $1.5-million in buildings and 8.5 acres of land with the merger, which will take effect in October, the beginning of the next fiscal year.
In turn, the activity center, which includes a 14,000-square-foot main building and a 9,600-square-foot day care, will have access to some of the tax dollars that support recreation. The center has an annual budget of about $212,000.
"We are now able to share our expenses with parks and recreation," said Irene Rausch, director of the center. "We have a part-time maintenance person. By merging, we will be able to add more maintenance staff, share their maintenance staff."
The Recreation Department primarily has outdoor programs, such as youth baseball and football. While it has used the senior activity center for classes such as dance and karate, the merger will allow it to offer more programs, such as a cooking or computer class.
"Whether it's purchasing, clerical, janitorial supplies, we all save money," Lannon said.
The probationary merger is a victory for dozens of retirees, who showed up at a meeting in March with cardboard cutouts of wedding bells that read, "Let's get married."
In March, supporters asked the Palm Harbor Community Services Agency, which oversees the library and recreation department, to merge the center and recreation department, but the move failed with a 3-2 vote.
Board members Ken Peluso and Robert Carr voted against the plan, saying they did not want to place the tax-supported Recreation Department at risk. In 2000, Palm Harbor residents voted against creating a special property tax to support the center.
"We certainly don't want to cripple the recreation program to have a program for the seniors," said Carr, the community service agency's vice chairman. "When the recreation program has a tight budget, it would be catastrophic for them to have a major drain outside their current budget."
After the March vote, Carr formed a committee to study the plan, with representatives from the agency, Recreation Department and senior activity center. Several guidelines were added to make sure that recreation tax dollars are not used to oversee operations and management of the center. The agency unanimously approved the probationary merger at its April 9 meeting.
As approved, the senior center must raise at least 90 percent of its funds.
"If the Recreation Department has to contribute a small amount, we feel that's a sacrifice we're willing to make," Carr said.
At the end of the one-year period, board members will evaluate the budgets and decide whether to make the merger permanent.
Rausch said the merger is a win-win for the center and Recreation Department.
The center will offer more programs for seniors, such as line dancing and country breakfasts, while younger people will flock there for computer and cooking classes.
"It's a perfect meld of two similar programs," she said.
- Megan Scott can be reached at (727) 445-4183 or mscott@sptimes.com[Last modified May 7, 2003, 03:09:17]
