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Danville Veterans Hall is the site of 36 monthly meetings, 13 annual events, and more than 50 classes and programs held on a regular basis. The Memorial Building also is home to programs offered by the Town, Danville Senior Citizens Club, VFW, American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of the Diablo Valley and Blue Star Moms.
During the multi-million renovation, where will they all go?
As the Town of Danville prepares for the construction, staff members are working to make sure that all of the classes and programs normally housed at the facility will have a home during the 18-month overhaul of the venerable old building.
At their Nov. 17 meeting, members of the Town Council discussed staff’s plan to relocate the classes to other facilities.
Recreation Services Manager Michelle Lacy said the construction is expected to displace the activities and programs at the building beginning in May 2010 and going through December 2011. Lacy said that in considering what to do with the displaced participants, staff members tried to focus on keeping the locations centralized for consistency, providing the veterans with the best accommodations possible, maintaining senior needs programs assessed as program priorities, and keeping the current level of participation.
Lacy said their recommendation is that the Town’s senior programs be relocated to the Town Meeting Hall, with those programs the hall can not accommodate going to either the Danville Community Center, Danville Library or Oak Hill Park Community Center.
It was also recommended that some programs be reduced or put on hold during that time due to space limitations. Those included daily drop-ins, cooking demonstrations, book club and daily structured card games.
Veterans groups’ regular meetings will be relocated to the Hap Magee Ranch Park’s Swain House, and larger events will go to the Danville Community Center.
Lacy said she has met with representatives of both the seniors and the veterans, with both groups giving their approval of the temporary move.
The move is expected to have some fiscal impact on the Town. Lacy said they are predicting that revenues will decrease by about $35,000 during that time. In addition, because of staff costs generated by the additional use of Town facilities, the relocation would generate a cost of $9,500.
Council members examined the plan and gave their unanimous approval. Mayor Newell Arnerich lauded Lacy’s efforts in keeping the programs together as well as getting consensus among the involved parties.
“The most important thing you’ve said is that everyone agreed,” he said.
Councilwoman Karen Stepper agreed, but added that the choice of locations reflected an awareness of the needs of those involved.
“The choice of locations was well done,” she said. “Having the seniors in the downtown, instead of going to Hap Magee Ranch was well done.”
Depending on the bid process and when construction is able to start, the relocations could begin in early May 2010.
