Politics & Government

Community Center's Proposed Renovations to be Presented at Monday's Council Meeting

Besides structural, energy, HVAC, parking and accessibility concerns about the building, there is a strong need to create additional spaces for a dedicated Senior Lounge, a similar Youth Lounge, storage and parking improvements.

The following was submitted by Summit Community Programs: 

A Report of Findings & Recommendations for the proposed renovation of the Summit Community Center will be presented at the meeting of the Summit Common Council on Monday, November 18, 2013. 

The meeting begins at 7:30 PM and is held at Summit’s City Hall, 512 Springfield Avenue, Summit, NJ. Presenting the findings of a study started in early 2011 will be David Rosen of The Rosen Group, architecture firm and Judith Leblein Josephs, Director of the Department of Community Programs. The public is invited to hear the report of findings and provide input on the recommendations. The presentation is offered for information and as a request for direction on the next step of this proposed plan.

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The Summit Community Center has served Summit since 1954. The program offerings for seniors, youth, teens, children with special needs and families continues to thrive. It has become a hub of community life for so many of Summit’s families. Seasonally, between 900 – 1,500 residents use the Community Center in some way each week with over 4,500 residents enrolled in one or more of our programs. This does not account for the group and organization use of the facility. The only thing holding back additional programming and opportunity for community use is space.

Over the years, there have been several renovations to the facility. The earliest renovation was in 1962 and the latest in 2001. Since the reorganization of the Board of Recreation into the Department of Community Programs, we have worked towards fulfilling our appointed mission. Our logo includes the “Share the Fun!” concept. This is exactly how the Community Center operates, with Summit Seniors, Youth and Teen Programming, Special Needs Programming and Camp Programs all “sharing the space” as well.

Find out what's happening in Summitwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Besides structural, energy, HVAC, parking and accessibility concerns about the building, there is a strong need to create additional spaces for a dedicated Senior Lounge, a similar Youth Lounge, storage and parking improvements. Hurricane Irene and most certainly Hurricane Sandy has emphasized the need for the Community Center to serve as a shelter and be equipped for that task. It currently would not meet sheltering standards.

In 2008 the Capital Budget was approved with an allocation for $75,000 to fund the necessary studies to improve the Community Center. Since the reorganization of the Board of Recreation into the Department of Community Programs in 2006, we now feel that we have a realistic understanding of the programming needs within the Center.

An RFP for Architectural Services to study the Community Center was sent to a variety of experienced architectural firms in the fall of 2010. A Screening Committee of members of the DCP Staff, DCP Advisory Board and DCS Engineering reviewed the proposals and presentations. They selected The Rosen Group of Summit, NJ as their finalist. This was based on experience, understanding of the public process and the cost of the study.

Since 2011, public meetings, focus groups with stakeholders and other workshops were held in the community. The end result is a comprehensive look at 9 design scenarios created through public input with 5 remaining selected by the public as potential answers to Summits’ recreational space needs. Estimates for these 5 scenarios range from a low of $2.54 million dollars to a high of $5.61 million. The more expensive scenarios call for improvements to the current gym, other programming, senior, youth and special needs programming spaces, parking and infrastructure improvements and a new additional full size gym.

Information outlining the current issues with the Summit Community Center and the input received through the public meetings is offered for public review. It is posted on the City website at www.cityofsummit.org on the Department of Community Programs Page.


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