Seniors Have Issues with Management of Hayes Recreation Center

Members of the Hayes Wellness Center meet with CM Charles Allen at Radici on Friday morning. Organizer Marci Hilt is at center.

Seniors Have Issues with Management of Hayes Recreation Center

by Larry Janezich

A group of eight senior citizens were waiting for CM Charles Allen when he walked in the door at Radici for his regularly scheduled community office house on Friday.  There were there, said organizer Marci Hilt, to raise concerns about the city’s privately managed Hayes Senior Wellness Center at 500 K Street, NE.   Hilt told Allen that members feel there is a lack of communication between Director Andre Lane and the membership, citing instances of miscommunication and obfuscation regarding programming at the center, which, she says is suffering a dwindling number of programs while the number of seniors using the center is increasing.  She cited the fitness programs as among those especially affected.

The Wellness Center is an adult activity center with social, recreational, and educational programs designed specifically for adults ages 60 and up. The center – housed in the renovated Hayes Elementary School – includes a cardio/weight room, computer lab, multi-purpose room, kitchen, and library.  It has been open since October, 2012, and is one of six senior wellness centers.

Allen noted that one of the challenges is that the building, which houses the headquarters of the Office of Aging and Community Living (AOCL), is using more and more and more space for administration purposes, at the expense of programming for the center.

The seniors asked Allen to host a meeting at Hayes with the Department of AOCL and Andre Lane, the Center’s Director, to resolve their concerns.  They want to see the center’s budget, grants, and an organizational chart.  Allen agreed to set up a meeting – probably in June.

The Hayes Senior Wellness Center opened on October 11, 2012. The center is one of the city’s six senior wellness centers.