CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Members of what Supervisor Denise Rushing called the “little community that could” gathered on Friday morning to celebrate another important new project in Clearlake Oaks.
The ceremony – complete with golden shovels – marked the official groundbreaking of the Live Oak Senior Center, a project that has been several years in the making.
Rushing lauded the community for its involvement, and retired County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox – under whose administration the new center's planning initially was launched – said the project exemplified what is possible when communities and governments partner for a common goal, even in the toughest of times.
Work on the new $1.5 million center actually began with grading early last week on the vacant lot next to the current senior center.
The foundation for the new 4,000-square-foot building already is down and workers with Chico-based Randy Hill Construction – to which the board awarded the construction contract at its Sept. 10 meeting – were busy at the site as the Friday event took place.
The new building is going up on a lot that had belonged to the neighboring Clearlake Oaks Community United Methodist Church, which agreed to sell it for use as the new senior center location.
The current center, located at 12502 Foothill Blvd., will continue to offer services – including its popular meals and a place for community meetings – while construction is under way, according to Eric Seely, deputy county administrative officer for special projects.
Once construction on the new center is complete – it's expected to be done by next June – the current building will be demolished to make way for a new parking lot, Seely said.
Before its incarnation as a senior center in 1984, the building – estimated to be more than 70 years old – had housed a social club and Moose Lodge.
But the aging building has reached the end of its useful life, Seely said, which led the county to setting the groundwork for building a new center beginning in 2008.
The plan has weathered the lean years of the recession, failure to land a grant and the end of redevelopment. However, thanks to the Board of Supervisors putting away money each year, Seely said the new center is becoming a reality.
“This is all exclusively county general fund money that the board has been setting aside,” said Seely.
He added that the county's former redevelopment agency was going to play a role before it was dismantled due to state legislation and a California Supreme Court ruling. Before the agency was dissolved, it funded the development of the new center's blueprints.
Also on hand for the Friday ceremony were Cliff and Nancy Ruzicka, owner of Ruzicka Associates in Lakeport.
The county's original architect went out of business during the process of planning the new center, and Ruzicka Associates stepped in to make sure the plans complied with the 2010 building codes, Seely said.
He credited Ruzicka Associates for fulfilling a “critical role” in the project. The firm will continue to be involved as the work moves forward, providing special inspection and testing during construction.
The new center will be about 1,600 square feet larger than the current facility, offering a bigger kitchen, level floors and better access as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the county reported.
Live Oak Senior Center Executive Director Pat Grabham – excited to see the new building taking shape – said the center currently serves about 80 to 90 seniors lunch five days a week.
In 2009, they started a bus service to bring seniors to the center in order to enjoy social interaction, which Grabham said is important to keep seniors healthy and connected.
Grabham envisions an expansion of services in the new facility, which will be able to accommodate more people and may even enable them to offer meals seven days a week.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.