EDITORIAL:Seniors deserve their center

It’s official: after several years of fundraising and last-minute campaigning, Laguna Beach Seniors, Inc. will be in charge of the Suzy Q Senior Center, now under construction on Third Street in downtown Laguna Beach.

Despite a flurry of nay-saying — among neighbors unhappy about various aspects of the design, historic preservationists who wanted the Third Street cottages untouched, and questions about “greening” the building and future operations — the ink is dry on a 55-year lease.

The senior/community center will be a wonderful new addition to Laguna Beach when it opens in 2009.

The Seniors will have a new facility built to their liking, and the community will have a new recreation center to replace and/or augment the City Hall recreation center down the street.

The council-approved lease — at $1 a year — may seem to some like a sweetheart deal for a local group.

Critics note that, while the Seniors kicked in $2.5 million, the city is picking up the remainder of the tab for the $15 million facility. By the numbers alone, it looks like the Seniors have hit the jackpot.

But we would like to point out that the city is getting the Seniors to run the senior citizen facility, no small exchange there.

The Seniors have the expertise and track record to run the center, which no other local group does, and the group itself is self-sustaining.

The Seniors have been operating for years out of the ramshackle Veterans Memorial building, with its “welcoming” cannon out front.

The facility is outdated to say the least, and the participation rate at the center has suffered as a result, with the center’s low-cost lunch program begging for customers.

One of the key complaints about the Legion Hall is its lack of parking — something the new facility will have in spades.

Laguna’s seniors deserve a state-of-the-art, accessible place to gather.

And, if anyone thinks it’s cost-prohibitive to join Laguna Beach Seniors, think again. A basic membership is $10 a year.

With the Baby Boomer generation moving into the senior bracket, and longevity increasing, we predict an ever-rising demand for senior-oriented programs and services in the city.

By 2010, a third of the city’s residents will be 60 years of age or older, the Seniors note.

We trust and hope that many, if not most of the younger community, will one day be in a position to enjoy the facility they are paying for.