Planada community hall to be remodeled and offer new services

The Planada Community Center will soon get a face-lift and become the home of several community programs, the Merced County Board of Supervisors decided this week.

County supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved allowing the Human Services Agency to fully manage the building and use it for programs for parent education, senior citizen programs and nutrition services.

The HSA will fund about $100,000 in upgrades, including interior painting, bathroom remodeling, new flooring installation and Americans With Disabilities Act-required improvements. HSA will run programs, such as All Moms Matter, All Dads Matter and other support services.

The community hall was previously managed by the countys Public Works Department and was most often used for community meetings by various organizations. However, a cutback in public works staff made it difficult to keep up with maintaining the building.

We used to run that particular facility, but with all our cutbacks with parks and staff reductions, weve always had a difficult time getting the hall open and making sure it was ready for people to rent, said Public Works Director Dana Hertfelder. This is the first time weve done something like this with the community halls.

The building will still be available for community events, Hertfelder said, but will no longer be available for private events. My understanding is we didnt have a lot of demand for private use, Hertfelder said, noting the building was rented less than 10 times a year for private parties.

Human Services Agency Director Ana Pagan said she believes in bringing programs to the outlying parts of the county to make it easier for people to access services.

We represent the whole community, Pagan said. A couple of years ago, some of the residents of Planada contacted me and said theyd like for us to come out here. The opportunity came up, and now well be able to have more community events and classes.

The benefit is we can do more community development and outreach, she said.

Irene De Le Cruz, a longtime Planada resident, said bringing services to the community is a big step because some residents might have trouble getting to Merced.

More:
Planada community hall to be remodeled and offer new services