An ‘Information Meeting’ was held on November 13th to discuss Killarney Seniors Centre.
Attendees were: COV/Parks Department: COV Project Manager and Real Estate and Facilities Management. The home team included Seniors’ Centre Building Committee representatives and Lorna Gibbs for SVSACS (Southeast Vancouver Seniors' Arts & Cultural Society).
The Bridging Consultant, Glenn Stokes, is a skilled facilitator and easily engaged participants. Because the City has opted to utilize the “Design-Build” concept, his involvement will end in December. Mr. Stokes explained his role as Bridging Consultant very clearly by saying he was there to write the recipe but the Building Contractor would actually bake the cake. Building Committee representatives were invited to express opinions on what they considered important in amenities and space allocation in the new seniors’ centre; these were recorded to assist in preliminary design work.
Three “Engagement Sessions” were held at Killarney Community Centre. Two were held at KCC and the third at Champlain Heights Public Library. All followed the same agenda where participants expressed opinions on what they considered important in space allocation and amenities and the Bridging Consultant recorded their opinions.
Input from SVSACS members was excellent and animated. Most members have almost ten years of advocacy and experience and their comments reflected this intimate knowledge. An important update on space needs was the recommended provision of a dining room to seat 200 diners (est. 3,000 sq ft) to enable the centre to accommodate the many cultural events in our highly diversified community. There appeared to be consensus that easier access to the seniors’ centre entrance was essential. The possibility of providing an access road was raised and will probably form part of the design process.
Feedback from all sessions will be assembled to guide preliminary designs for review with stakeholder groups before the larger public consultation begins.
You can learn about the history and most recent updates and activities of SVSACS on their website at www.svsacs.org - they always welcome new members.
- Guest post by Lorna Gibbs of SVSACS
*We always welcome your feedback and comments below.
Attendees were: COV/Parks Department: COV Project Manager and Real Estate and Facilities Management. The home team included Seniors’ Centre Building Committee representatives and Lorna Gibbs for SVSACS (Southeast Vancouver Seniors' Arts & Cultural Society).
The Bridging Consultant, Glenn Stokes, is a skilled facilitator and easily engaged participants. Because the City has opted to utilize the “Design-Build” concept, his involvement will end in December. Mr. Stokes explained his role as Bridging Consultant very clearly by saying he was there to write the recipe but the Building Contractor would actually bake the cake. Building Committee representatives were invited to express opinions on what they considered important in amenities and space allocation in the new seniors’ centre; these were recorded to assist in preliminary design work.
Three “Engagement Sessions” were held at Killarney Community Centre. Two were held at KCC and the third at Champlain Heights Public Library. All followed the same agenda where participants expressed opinions on what they considered important in space allocation and amenities and the Bridging Consultant recorded their opinions.
Input from SVSACS members was excellent and animated. Most members have almost ten years of advocacy and experience and their comments reflected this intimate knowledge. An important update on space needs was the recommended provision of a dining room to seat 200 diners (est. 3,000 sq ft) to enable the centre to accommodate the many cultural events in our highly diversified community. There appeared to be consensus that easier access to the seniors’ centre entrance was essential. The possibility of providing an access road was raised and will probably form part of the design process.
Feedback from all sessions will be assembled to guide preliminary designs for review with stakeholder groups before the larger public consultation begins.
You can learn about the history and most recent updates and activities of SVSACS on their website at www.svsacs.org - they always welcome new members.
- Guest post by Lorna Gibbs of SVSACS
*We always welcome your feedback and comments below.
