Forest Grove Senior and Community Center Work Session - August 24, 2026
Forest Grove Senior and Community Center Work Session - August 24, 2026
This work session was held to discuss the future operations of the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center following a notice from Centro Cultural that they will cease management after December 31, 2026. City staff and a consultant presented two operational models and recommended a hybrid approach where the city manages the facility in partnership with nonprofits. Council members provided input on outreach, data collection, staffing, and budget, and ultimately reached consensus to pursue the hybrid model.
Discussion Items
- City Manager Jesse Vanderzana opened the session, noting the connection to the Vision 2040 plan goals of a healthy and active community and community connection, specifically actions 3.3, 3.6, 3.7, 4.4, 4.6, and 4.2.
- The two options presented were Option A (nonprofit operated and managed) and Option B (city operated and managed in partnership with nonprofits, called the hybrid model). Consultant Megan from the parks and recreation master plan team presented demographic and engagement data showing that 31% of the community is Hispanic/Latino, but only 6-13% of poll respondents were from that group, indicating a need for better outreach. She noted that across all demographics, the top desires were clean facilities, restrooms, and free/low-cost recreation.
- Director of Parks and Recreation Ann Lane detailed the hybrid model transition: a do-no-harm first year, maintaining Monday-Friday 8am-4pm hours, honoring existing leases, and reclassifying a recreation coordinator to a recreation supervisor for on-site management. Additional staffing would include cross-training cashiers from the aquatic center and expanding custodial and landscaping support. Estimated budget impacts showed a net expense increase of $30,200, with revenues expected from expanded rents ($25,000) and programming ($10,000 net gain of $5,000).
- Council President Valenzuela stressed the importance of reaching the Latino community, suggesting partnerships with Centro Cultural, Adelante, schools, and Pacific University for volunteerism and intergenerational programming. She noted the city has repeatedly struggled to engage this population and urged staff to incorporate these connections.
- Councilor Falconer requested that demographic data collection include income and housing status, as renters often face disparities in access to recreation. She emphasized that polling results can be skewed toward homeowners and higher income groups, potentially missing the needs of vulnerable populations. The mayor and other councilors voiced agreement.
- Councilor Schimmel asked about assurance of retaining current senior programming and whether the budget could absorb the $30,200 increase. Assistant City Manager Kim Ezel confirmed the current budget can absorb the costs, with any adjustments to be brought forward if needed or included in the next biennium budget discussions. Director Lane clarified that the recreation coordinator would be moved from City Hall to the center, improving public access, and that staffing ramp-up would be gradual.
- The City Manager clarified that the city's current staff would be stretched across facilities but with cross-training and backfill for cashiers. The existing buildings are not compromised.
Key Outcomes
- Council reached unanimous consensus to move forward with the hybrid model (city-operated in partnership with nonprofits). This decision is independent of the quality of past service provided by the Forest Grove Senior Center Board and Centro Cultural, for which the Mayor expressed appreciation.
- Staff will begin placing personnel at the center as early as October 2026 to learn operations and build relationships, aiming for a smooth transition when Centro Cultural’s management ends on December 31, 2026.
- The first-year plan includes maintaining existing programs, honoring current leases, and expanding offerings gradually. Budget adjustments of $30,200 will be absorbed by the current general fund, with monitoring and possible future amendments.
Meeting Transcript
And the council formal action. The topic of tonight's work session is on the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center. And I'm going to turn it over to our city manager, Jesse Vanderzana. Thank you, Mayor, members of the council. I have here with me this evening, Ann Lane, Director of Parks and Recreation. Thanks, Ann, for joining us. Um, I know we have limited time, and so we'll try to get through this as soon as we can. If you could go to the next slide, please, Mariah. Next slide, please. So everything that we do here at the city connects back somehow to our vision 2040 plan. There's two areas in which this work session will connect back. The first goal statement is a healthy and active community. I'm not going to go through all of these, but the outcome is to increase recreation opportunities for all. And if you look down and actions 3.3, 3.6, and 3.7. All of those have to do with reducing barriers to participation and trying to increase opportunities for our community. Next slide. So this goal statement is community connection. This one actually has a action specific to the senior and community center. If you look at 4.4, increase and enhance opportunities at the senior and community center. And then if you look at 4.6, increase the number of volunteers and volunteer programs and improve the culture of volunteerism. 4.2 is about exploring opportunities to create a central community gathering space. The Forest Grove Senior Community Center has served as a central gathering space in the community for many, many years that is welcoming for all ages. Next slide, please. So there's really kind of two options that we're going to cover tonight. As the community uh may know, we received a letter from Central Cultural. Um, they will no longer be able to operate and manage the senior center after December 31st of 2026. Um, and so they have asked the city to consider this issue and what some of the options might be moving forward after that date. And there's really kind of two options that are out there. One is nonprofit operated and managed. That's the way that it has been done since the inception of the senior center. The other one is B, a city operated and managed in partnership with nonprofits or what we are characterizing as kind of the hybrid option. Next slide. We're going to talk about each of these in just a minute. So the senior center is composed of two separate tax slots. Uh they were donated to the city in 1972. They were deeded in 1993, and that's how they are currently recorded with the county today. Next slide. A little bit about uh the facility itself. It was built with what's called community development block grad funds. That's a federal funding program that was constructed in 1978. There's a number of agreements that go with it, and what an agreement is the CDBG agreement is when you receive federal money, you agree to use the money in the fashion in which it was granted to you for a period of 20 years. So if you look at the third bullet encumbered until 2038, that's based on the kitchen remodel in 2018. So for 20 years, that is a publicly accessible kitchen that needs to be used in accordance with the program requirements for the federal funding that we received. The facility is approximately 9600 square feet. And some of the recent improvements has received quite a bit of improvements over the years. But most recently, within the last decade, it's had a re-roof, a kitchen remodel, and ARPA stands for American Rescue Plan Act Improvements. So we add alarm system, floral windows, doors, paint, HVAC, and restrooms. If you haven't been to the Forest Grove Senior Community Center, it's it's looking good. Next slide. So the current city budget, uh, this is what's built and programmed into the city budget as of today.
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