By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick held a community meeting on Monday, Sept. 25, in Overton to update residents on proposed changes to the Overton Senior Center facility and to gather community input about additional programming that might make the building a more inclusive resource.
Also in attendance were Kirkpatrick’s Constituent Liaison Janice Ridondo, Clark County Parks and Rec Director Mindy Meyers, Moapa Valley Parks and Rec Director John Stastny and United Seniors Director Cindy Marino.
Although Kirkpatrick was hoping to hear input from families as well as from seniors, very few younger families attended the meeting. But it was well attended by seniors who were curious and concerned about the proposed changes.
Kirkpatrick spent the first part of the meeting reassuring seniors that current programs will not be lost. The food program will continue, along with popular current activities such as bingo night and line dancing, she said. In fact, more programming might be added for seniors in addition to planned community programming, she said.
Kirkpatrick asked what programs attendees would like to see on the schedule. Suggestions ranged from raised-bed gardening and senior aerobics classes to karaoke night and field trips.
Kirkpatrick answered questions from a number of concerned citizens about the vision of emphasizing a more multi-generational approach to the facility. Seniors expressed concern that children would not be supervised and that damage to senior center property might occur. But Kirkpatrick reassured them that Clark County would be responsible for any property damage and that there would be both full-time and part-time Parks and Rec staff present to supervise children at all times.
Some seniors asked Stastny how many kids were attending current programming in the building. Stastny admitted that the numbers are currently low. But he acknowledged that the low numbers are due to a lack of activities available due to heavy restrictions on building use. Adding youth programming such as video games, sand volleyball, craft classes, exercise classes, and more; as well as allowing families to use the equipment in the building; would lead to a rise in attendance numbers, Stastny said.
Kirkpatrick brought maps of the neighborhood to take suggestions on proposed expansions or ground use that residents would be interested in. “I have about $147,000 to spend for the entire district and we are trying to use that money the best way possible,” she said. “A good deal of it already comes out here. So we can’t build a new building, but we could use these funds to adapt and improve upon what we already have and make a center that is available to everyone in the community from our youth to our senior citizens.”
Kirkpatrick added that her office is constantly looking for additional grant money to add to these funds and have recently hired a grant writer to work specifically on grants for rural areas in the county such as Moapa Valley.
The agreement for the building would allow for the proposed changes goes into effect on November 1. But this agreement is only for one year. After that year is up, things could be reevaluated, Kirkpatrick said.
“We want to leave the lines of communication open,” she said. “You can accomplish so much more when you just communicate.”
Kirkpatrick reminded the group that the new contract was already saving the United Seniors, Inc. organization money. Under the new agreement, Clark County takes over janitorial services.
In order to make everyone feel welcome, the sign on the outside of the center will be changed to read “Moapa Valley Recreation Center,” Kirkpatrick said.
Response to the meeting was positive overall. Local senior, Lita Fisher said she was pleasantly surprised.
“The message that we got tonight was not the same message we have been getting up until now,” Fisher said. “After hearing it from the Commissioner herself, I’m very optimistic about the future of the building.”
Stastny was also positive about the proposal. “I’m excited to work with the new director, Cindy Marino,” he said. “She’s very outgoing and wants to help. I think this building has a ton of potential for both the seniors and the community. I think it will be a good thing for everyone.”
