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Senior center chair warns move to Knights of Columbus Hall has left members short on parking, storage and space
Summary
Nancy Ranieri, chair of the Senior Center Support Committee, told the Washington City Council the senior center’s move to the Knights of Columbus Hall six months ago left it with only two handicap parking spots, limited storage and lost classroom and library space, and that frequent rentals are imposing heavy work on senior volunteers.
Nancy Ranieri, chairperson of the Senior Center Support Committee, told the Washington City Council on Nov. 3 that the group’s move six months ago to the Knights of Columbus Hall has left members without adequate parking, secure storage and classroom space.
"We have 18 to 20 people that are regular visitors to the center that have handicap parking placards," Ranieri said during the public-comment period, adding that the hall provided two designated handicap spots “which is not enough.” She said the Elks building previously offered at least six level parking spaces and more usable floor area.
Ranieri said the senior center has lost dedicated classroom and library space since leaving the Elks and that frequent rentals at the hall have forced volunteers and staff—many of them seniors—to move furniture, filing cabinets and equipment. "We've had 29 rentals between moving in in May and October," she said, and reported the support committee had spent an estimated 83 work hours through October moving items and restoring the space after rentals.
She also raised privacy and security concerns: the administrator’s desk and member files are currently in a room that doubles as a classroom and is not consistently locked, she said, and the storage area promised to the support committee was instead repurposed as shared dry-food storage for the kitchen and contains Knights of Columbus furniture.
Ranieri told the council the ice machine is not functioning and that volunteers are purchasing ice for the drink station, and she reported a decline in attendance, estimating participant numbers are down by one-third to one-half since the move. She said Aging Ahead funds the lunch program under a multiyear contract and that smaller attendance could threaten the program’s feasibility.
Council members asked clarifying questions about square footage and parking. Ranieri said the new location is about 6,500 square feet compared with about 10,000 at the Elks; she said the Elks had at least six handicap spaces. Council members and staff said they would follow up with the Knights of Columbus leadership to discuss reserved spots, storage, rental scheduling and the ice machine. The city administrator noted the Aging Ahead contract is multiyear and cannot be immediately withdrawn by the provider.
The presiding officer encouraged Ranieri to continue discussions with Knights of Columbus representatives and said staff would attempt to push the listed concerns forward for resolution.
The council did not take any formal action during the meeting on the senior center’s requests; staff committed to further review and outreach to the hall’s officers and to provide follow-up to the support committee.
