Does the city council and city management staff remember being given a detailed letter written by a senior volunteer and signed by over 100 Menlo Park Senior Center seniors about these proposed plans (before the MPSC closing due to Covid 19) ??
Seniors clearly stated their concerns and requests to keep the beloved MPSC as IS, for many valid reasons. This could be done and would allow more money and space for the proposed community, youth, and library center. Seniors had been invited to be part the planning committee, including having choices on where their services and classes would be moved to during demolition and construction, yet the decisions have been made. We can blame Covid 19, yet seniors have been left out of this planning process from the beginning. Former Mayor Taylor acknowledged this publicly, thankfully, so we hoped for better treatment. It's not too late for that, please.
Especially now, it would be SAFER to have the separate, existing senior center, the MPSC, for MANY reasons.
Why can't the millions of dollars for this proposed project go to helping the community and seniors needing help NOW ?
Keeping the existing MPSC could save some millions and go to helping the community now, while providing more space for a new facility for youth, community centers and library which many in the community do want. In a past Almanac article, the design firm stated that community input could be incorporated, so could they or city officials consider the seniors' concerns and requests ? Or is this a more appropriate question: do their concerns and requests matter ?