Ed Brown Center, Programs OK to Stay

The Ed Brown Senior Center, which seemed to be in jeopardy of closing or having to majorly restructure its program offerings, is in the home stretch of securing a special use permit to operate through at least June with its programming schedule intact.

"The bottom line is everything's fine," said Kevin Quigley, president of the center's board of directors.

Quigley and city officials met Tuesday as part of an ongoing review of the center's compliance with the city charter for senior centers. All of the city's other senior centers will be going through the process, too, but Rancho Bernardo was chosen first after an issue arose with one of the center's tenants.

Within the next few weeks, officials hope to sign a new special use permit for the center with the city that will run through June 30, 2012. At that point, the permit could be—and seems likely to be—renewed for another two years, said Clay Bingham, deputy director of Community Parks I Division of the Park and Recreation Department.

At issue was whether the center's vast array of programming and rentals—from Weight Watchers groups to dance classes—complied with the city requirement that the programming be recreational for seniors, which at Ed Brown is those 50 and older.

Here's where some of the key aspects of programming stand:

• Weight Watchers: These classes will be allowed to continue. There had been concerns that they were not "recreational" enough to comply. What the city deems recreational has been unclear.
• Petra Pentecostal Church: The church, which holds services at the center on Sundays and Wednesday, can continue to rent the space even though it doesn't just serve seniors. Pastor Jeff Keck said members have been praying that they would be able to stay and are happy they can. "We really felt like that was the right place for us. We were just holding on." Many other senior centers also rent their space to churches, and Bingham said it was beyond the department's ability to deal with such a complex issue. "Churches are a complicated issue and we just decided not to go there," he said.
• Other rentals: The center can still be rented out for retirement parties, weddings for seniors and other events that are aimed at serving seniors, Bingham said. But a Sweet 16 party? No. Senior-serving events can be attended by younger people as long as the purpose remains senior focused.
• RB United: When the center was recently applying for a new use permit, it listed RB United—a service nonprofit created after the 2007 wildfires which had been renting space for a year—as part of its programming package. This prompted city officials to initiate a review of the center and its compliance with the city charter for senior centers. Over the summer, after being told by the city that it did not meet charter requirements, RB United moved out of the center and into office space at Real Living Lifestyles on Bernardo Center Drive. That's where it remains, with seven volunteer staffers, and one paid part-time staff member.

The center must also transition to an all-seniors population, and the city is giving staff a chance to do that, Bingham said. There had been some confusion about whether program attendees—say, a center dance or exercise class—had to be all seniors or just comprised of a certain percentage of seniors.

The city provides senior group rates at recreation centers—not senior centers—for activities where 75 percent of attendees are seniors ages 62 and older. Some people had thought this 75 percent threshold applied to senior center classes, permitting a few younger individuals to participate in activities, but Bingham said that is not the case. Younger people, as mentioned above, may join in at activites where space has been rented for a retirement party or other activity geared at seniors.

Younger individuals who have paid for classes and activities at Ed Brown will be able to finish out their sessions, Bingham said.

What's next for the center, which has about a $100,000 budget based on revenue from rentals, memberships and donations, is gaining more donations, volunteers and members.[Editor's Note: A chart with a budget breakdown is attached to this story.]

At a forum earlier this month, the RB Noon Rotary donated $2,000 to the center.

"Every dollar is well-received," Quigley said at the time.

Board members say membership has fallen to about 560 from a high in years past of 2,500. The board has also talked about dramatically raising membership fees to $100 for singles and $150 for couples from current rates of $40 for singles and $65 for couples to generate revenue and fall in line with prices of surrounding centers.

Bingham said anyone who has questions can call him at 619-221-8901.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter @RBPatch.