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Commission directs staff to pursue mixed approach for nonprofits’ facility needs
Summary
After staff presented seven options to address needs of the senior center, Awakened Outreach, Kiwanis and the North Port Arts Center, the commission gave consensuses to: (1) work with Awaken to rehab the existing community education center and keep Awaken at the site; (2) move senior center programming to the Mullins Center and explore city/staff management; and (3) work with the Arts Center and Kiwanis on land/lease options.
City staff presented a menu of options to address facility and space needs for local nonprofits and the senior center, ranging from full replacement of the community services facility to phased modular or shared‑use approaches.
Public Works Director Chuck Speak summarized seven staff options that included: full demolition and new construction of a 10,000‑square‑foot facility (estimated $6,880,000); leasing or purchasing temporary modular facilities while rebuilding ($892,601 first‑year lease estimate or $1,400,000 purchase estimate); a hybrid purchase+new construction ($8.1–8.3M); relocating the senior center to the George Mullins Activity Center and using a modest modular for administration (estimated 5‑year lease $627,000 or purchase $642,000); rehabilitation of the existing community education building (estimated $2,900,000 with a range up to $3.8M depending on unforeseen conditions); targeted options for Kiwanis (storage or Scout House use); and exploring a shared‑use agreement with the North Port Arts Center.
Staff listed pros and cons for each option: full replacement would address structural and wind‑code deficiencies but carry high cost and multi‑year construction timelines; rehabilitation could stabilize the building and address immediate deficiencies but would not fully bring all structural components up to current wind code; temporary modulars are lower short‑term cost but have ongoing lease, energy and accessibility tradeoffs.
Several nonprofit leaders spoke during public comment. Kiwanis representatives asked for city permission to use land across from the Arts Center or the Scout House campus for a portable/storage unit to support their services and grant competitiveness. Awake Outreach leaders noted they serve thousands of local families monthly and urged continuity of operations; Awake’s representative said the organization would prefer to remain at its current location because many pantry users walk to the existing site.
After discussion, the commission recorded three consensuses: (1) direct the city manager to work with staff and Awaken Food Pantry & Outreach Center to explore rehabbing the current community education center and to allow Awake to continue at that location while repairs are planned; (2) direct staff to work with the senior center to move programming to the Mullins Center and to explore whether city staff or the senior center will manage programming there; and (3) direct staff to work with the Arts Center and Kiwanis to identify available land and draft land‑lease options that help those nonprofits locate operations.
Commissioners emphasized protecting core services (the food pantry’s walk‑up access was repeatedly cited) while seeking affordable, phased ways to address capital needs. Staff said they will return with costed MOU options and more precise CIP timing for decision in early 2026.
Actions/consensus: staff will report back with a rehabbing scope and costs for the community education center, an operational plan for senior center relocation to Mullins Center, and draft land‑lease options for art center/Kiwanis for further commission consideration.
