View Full Version : Senior Wellness Centers
Snowman 11-05-2012, 06:22 PM Is that how they were pitched in MAPs3? My memory differs, but there's been plenty of times that happens to me without any real reason.
Since it was clear they were not really sure what they were building in the early MAPS3 meetings it would not surprise me if they were advertised as all being aquatic centers. However I distinctly remember not being able to find out from the pre-vote material if senior aquatic center meant it would have more like an Olympic pool, endless swimming/hydrotherapy pool or a 16 x 16 foot pool to do group water aerobics classes.
JohnH_in_OKC 11-05-2012, 07:20 PM But that is what was essentially promised with MAPS 3...we were going to get 4 to 5 Senior Aquatic Centers..definitely 4 and a 5th if money permitted...think most folks figured each quadrant would get one and the 5th one would be located downtown. If they don't deliver what was promised with MAPS 3, why would folks fall for the same promise with MAPS 4???
Also, if not mistaken, the current Streetcar route doesn't get anywhere close to Boathouse Row
I decided to post a reply to the streetcar route remark in the Modern Streetcar thread (http://www.okctalk.com/transportation/20121-modern-streetcar-commuter-transit-project-maps-3-progresses-107.html) in the Transportation section. It may be a few days (if ever) before I post my thoughts since I want to read that section first before posting anything.
Also, Larry, who knows what will be decided eventually about our Senior Wellness/Aquatic? Centers. Without senior indoor pools, Woodson & Will Rogers Parks provide various programs for seniors. Woodson (and Foster) both have gyms that anyone can use. I have been surprised that only about 30-40 people a day use the indoor pool at Foster (mostly seniors). That's probably due to almost no one in Oklahoma City knowing about it. I also guess that many of the affluent residents living in the new deep deuce housing may already be members of the nearby Edward L Gaylord Downtown YMCA (http://www.ymcaokc.org/Locations/EDWARDLGAYLORDDOWNTOWN.aspx).
Larry OKC 11-06-2012, 12:58 PM they are senior health and wellness centers ... they may or many not be aquatic
While the City's website has dropped the word "Aquatics". It was there during the campaign and mentioned often. In some recent articles the word Aquatics had been dropped but a report from the sub committee that I saw somewhere still had the Aquatics included in the schematics.
Maps 3 Projects: Other Projects | NewsOK.com (http://newsok.com/article/3418988)
Health and wellness aquatic centers for senior citizens, $50 million
An undetermined number of the centers would be built across
the city. City officials have not said exactly where the centers will be located.
Oklahoma City MAPS 3 Initiatives - Brief History of MAPS, FAQs, Status and List of MAPS 3 Initiatives (http://okc.about.com/od/citygovernment/a/okcmaps3.htm)
State-of-the-art health and wellness aquatic centers throughout the city designed for senior citizens. ($50 million)
Mick Cornett - Businessweek (http://www.businessweek.com/panelists/51798-mick-cornett)
MAPS 3 projects include a 70-acre downtown park, improved sidewalks and hike and bike trails, a modern streetcar system, a new convention center, senior wellness/aquatic centers, and other amenities.
With a project specifically targeting seniors did they repeal the senior exemption from the MAPS tax?
Yes, if memory serves the Senior Tax exemption/rebate was only for the original MAPS and has been absent since MAPS 4 Kids
Since it was clear they were not really sure what they were building in the early MAPS3 meetings it would not surprise me if they were advertised as all being aquatic centers. However I distinctly remember not being able to find out from the pre-vote material if senior aquatic center meant it would have more like an Olympic pool, endless swimming/hydrotherapy pool or a 16 x 16 foot pool to do group water aerobics classes.
The Aquatics part was rather vague as what that would mean, but we did have some indications as to what they had in mind. Never did understand why the Senior Centers book chapter (given to the Citizen Oversight Committee) literally was void of ANY information. The book was held up during a Council meeting where some members were expressing their concerns that the Senior Aquatics Centers would get lost and forgotten. Have to remember they brought in the Mayor of North Little Rock to speak at one of the Chamber's "Breaking Though" luncheons...
A closer look: Breakdown of Maps 3 projects | NewsOK.com (http://newsok.com/a-closer-look-breakdown-of-maps-3-projects/article/3423369#ixzz2BT8u1PVj)
Health and wellness aquatic centers for senior citizens, $50 million
City leaders plan to build four or five large senior centers with pools across the city.
Mayor Mick Cornett said each will cost $10 million to $15 million, and they will be located north, south, east and west, though exact locations haven’t been chosen.
The centers should resemble one built recently in North Little Rock, Ark., which has two pools, a walking track, exercise equipment, a computer room, a small library, a puzzle room and gathering spots for people to sit and talk. About 700 people use the North Little Rock center each day, and members pay a $25 annual fee.
And this from Doug's blog (about 1/3 of the way down the page)
Doug Dawgz Blog: All The News About MAPS 3 (http://dougdawg.blogspot.com/2009/10/all-news-about-maps-3.html#chamberluncheons)
The mayor's [Patrick Hays] presentation consisted largely of slides showing various rooms in the facility, including the following: puzzle room; aquatic pool; lap pool; walking trails; exercise rooms with lots of state of the art equipment; visiting areas where people just chat and "decide the problems of the world"; a pool room with 4 pool tables; a ping pong room; classroom areas; a small library; a computer room donated by AT&T at a cost of $50,000; and ballroom which can be rented. He said that about 1/3 of the center's operational costs are generated from rental, presumably during off-hours.
BoulderSooner 06-21-2013, 02:55 PM per next weeks Senior Health and Wellness center Subcommittee agenda they are being asked to authorize the city to negotiation of contracts with 2 possible Operating Partners.
1. Oklahoma City-County Health
2. Healthy Living, Inc. (a Non-Profit Subsidiary of Putnam City Baptist Church)
warreng88 03-18-2014, 02:48 PM OKC Civic Affairs
MAPS 3 senior center advances
By William Crum
Published: March 18, 2014
The Oklahoma City Council on Tuesday approved a design contract and programming agreement for the first of the MAPS 3 senior health and wellness centers, which will open near NW 117 Street and Rockwell Avenue.
Healthy Living and Fitness Inc., which is affiliated with Putnam City Baptist Church, is to operate the center.
The “term sheet” approved by the city council outlines requirements to assure seniors can afford to use the center. It sets a minimum of 65 hours — including four hours on the weekend — that the center will be open each week.
The city will retain the center’s naming rights, but Healthy Living will be able to sell “sponsorships,” for instance, for the pool.
The senior centers were approved by voters in 2009 as part of MAPS 3. Plans called for four to five to be built, at a total cost of around $50 million, with community groups taking the lead in running the centers.
Community groups have been slow to come forward. Negotiations currently are underway for just two centers — Healthy Living’s center in northwest Oklahoma City and a second in south Oklahoma City to be run by NorthCare.
GSB Inc. is to design the first of the MAPS 3 senior centers. That contract — also approved Tuesday by the city council — is for $933,120.
MAPS 3 senior center advances | News OK (http://newsok.com/maps-3-senior-center-advances/article/3944529)
117th & Rockwell??
I suppose they had to go where they could get a partner to operate.
Tier2City 03-18-2014, 07:52 PM What happened to City-County Health Department as a partner?
shawnw 03-19-2014, 12:52 AM Just curious... let's say we wait for community groups to come forward until the last penny is spent on every other project but nobody comes. Do we reallocate the funds or just build some buildings nobody wants to operate, or???
3 unbuilt centers = $150M unspent = dare I say streetcar phase 3 and 4?
...or, knock on wood, convention center cost overruns (i.e. it's really a $400M CC after all)...
...or, gasp, convention center hotel???
DavidD_NorthOKC 03-19-2014, 12:55 AM Just curious... let's say we wait for community groups to come forward until the last penny is spent on every other project but nobody comes. Do we reallocate the funds or just build some buildings nobody wants to operate, or???
3 unbuilt centers = $150M unspent = dare I say streetcar phase 3 and 4?
...or, knock on wood, convention center cost overruns (i.e. it's really a $400M CC after all)...
...or, gasp, convention center hotel???
I've wondered the same thing shawnw.
MWCGuy 03-19-2014, 05:00 AM The days of seniors moving to Florida are going away. Most want to be close to there families and are opting for Retirement Villages or moving in with their children like Mom is about to do because Dad just passed and she does not want to live on her own. She wants to be in a house with other people she knows and loves. In interact with a lot Seniors are retirees at work. They tell me they like OKC because the pace of life is just right. They like the new things that are going on the city but, they don't want to live in the urban core where people running over each other. They want the slow pace of life and they can get that in the suburbs and in the retirement villages that are opening in the suburban areas of the city.
shawnw 03-19-2014, 08:46 AM I could argue that people are running into each other just as much at 117th and Rockwell as in the core. But the chief problem is still more operators stepping up.
OklahomaNick 03-20-2014, 12:03 PM I know there have been a mentions of Woodson Park at SW 29th and I-44 on this thread. I saw that the entire west portion of the park has been raised and it looks like they are doing some drainage and dirt work. It looks like the City of OKC still owns this site. Anyone know what they are doing?
ljbab728 03-20-2014, 11:08 PM Woodson Park - OKCTalk (http://www.okctalk.com/showwiki.php?title=Woodson+Park&highlight=woodson)
Snowman 03-20-2014, 11:19 PM The days of seniors moving to Florida are going away. Most want to be close to there families and are opting for Retirement Villages or moving in with their children like Mom is about to do because Dad just passed and she does not want to live on her own. She wants to be in a house with other people she knows and loves. In interact with a lot Seniors are retirees at work. They tell me they like OKC because the pace of life is just right. They like the new things that are going on the city but, they don't want to live in the urban core where people running over each other. They want the slow pace of life and they can get that in the suburbs and in the retirement villages that are opening in the suburban areas of the city.
Opinions of course vary, my grandma moved into a retirement neighborhood in an urban center from a suburban house about a year or two ago (stayed in the same metro), loves it and has said many times since she wished she had done it years earlier. Reflecting on my other grandmother I wish she would have considered it, she spent the last ten years of her life rarely leaving the house due to having to get someone to pick her up because she could not drive any more but was still fit for her age and was capable of walking long distances up until the last few weeks before she passed.
I edited the article at the top to reflect new plans and renderings for the first senior wellness center.
OKCisOK4me 08-25-2014, 12:16 PM Keep Calm and Swim On, lol.
Plutonic Panda 08-25-2014, 12:31 PM I like it!
GaryOKC6 08-25-2014, 12:37 PM This looks awesome!
CuatrodeMayo 08-25-2014, 01:00 PM Architecturally, it's a nice building.
It seems like they could have shared the parking with the church instead of building their own. Unless the church needs additional parking and will be using this new lot.
EDIT: I took a closer look and it appears there was parking going there in the master plan anyways. Nm.
Plutonic Panda 08-25-2014, 01:28 PM Architecturally, it's a nice building.
It seems like they could have shared the parking with the church instead of building their own. Unless the church needs additional parking and will be using this new lot.
EDIT: I took a closer look and it appears there was parking going there in the master plan anyways. Nm.Probably parking requirements for each building.
PennyQuilts 08-25-2014, 04:10 PM Panda, not only are these good places for older women, you can perhaps hang out there and meet one or four. Men are in high demand with that set, I'm led to believe.
Plutonic Panda 08-25-2014, 04:47 PM Panda, not only are these good places for older women, you can perhaps hang out there and meet one or four. Men are in high demand with that set, I'm led to believe.Oh come on.... how did you know that was my plan?? ;)
PennyQuilts 08-25-2014, 07:06 PM Oh come on.... how did you know that was my plan?? ;)
I am wise to the ways of men. Because I am an older woman.
HOT ROD 08-26-2014, 01:27 AM it looks great. im very glad the city is investing in its citizens. NOW, I couldn't help but thinking while viewing the renderings, that it's too bad this is just for seniors. I think the children need community centers like this - remember those of old, where you could swim, work out, and so on? I think more community centers (f0r youth) could make the city a safer place and give youngsters something to do. I especially like the arts/craft area, imagine that at a youth oriented center?
nonetheless, kudos on the existing plans.
TechArch 08-26-2014, 12:25 PM Pete - do you know which architecture firm is doing this first wellness center?
Pete - do you know which architecture firm is doing this first wellness center?
Glover Smith Bode
Oklahoma Architects Glover Smith Bode are Architects in Oklahoma City | gsb (http://www.gsb-inc.com/)
TechArch 08-27-2014, 12:21 PM I know that FSB is doing one of the Senior Wellness Centers. However, I do not know which one.
warreng88 08-28-2014, 03:08 PM From newsok:
Oklahoma City's MAPS-funded senior center to feature 'hybrid' pool
Designers of Oklahoma City’s senior aquatics center have incorporated features to promote socializing, fitness and healthy habits.
by William Crum
Modified: August 28, 2014 at 2:00 pm
Published: August 27, 2014
The first MAPS 3 senior aquatics center is being described as a socially engaging space that will be “light, bright and energetic.”
Architects and consultants on Wednesday gave a MAPS 3 advisory committee a look at plans for the 40,000-square-foot center, to be built next to Putnam City Baptist Church at NW 112 and Rockwell Avenue.
The centerpiece is a warm-water “hybrid” pool about half the size of an Olympic swimming pool, fit for activities from water aerobics to lap swimming.
See the rest of the article at: Oklahoma City's MAPS-funded senior center to feature 'hybrid' pool | News OK (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-citys-maps-funded-senior-center-to-feature-hybrid-pool/article/5336407)
warreng88 12-31-2014, 08:53 AM From Newsok.com:
MAPS-funded senior center projects on track in Oklahoma City
Design work for a senior wellness center to be in northwest Oklahoma City is “in the home stretch,” an architect said Tuesday.
by Silas Allen Published: December 31, 2014
Design work for a senior wellness center to be in northwest Oklahoma City is “in the home stretch,” an architect said Tuesday.
Ryan Eshelman, of Oklahoma City-based architecture firm GSB, told the Oklahoma City Council on Tuesday that architects expect to break ground on the project in May. The center is expected to open in 2016.
The center will be at NW 122 and Rockwell Avenue, next to Putnam City Baptist Church. The project is being funded by the penny MAPS 3 sales tax Oklahoma City voters approved in December 2009.
Read the rest of the article at: MAPS-funded senior center projects on track in Oklahoma City | News OK (http://newsok.com/maps-funded-senior-center-projects-on-track-in-oklahoma-city/article/5380435)
jccouger 12-31-2014, 08:58 AM Why is this being built so far up North? Where are the other ones going to be located?
Edit* Whoops, I see the next one is in the Capital Hill area.
Spartan 12-31-2014, 09:58 AM Architecturally, it's a nice building.
It seems like they could have shared the parking with the church instead of building their own. Unless the church needs additional parking and will be using this new lot.
EDIT: I took a closer look and it appears there was parking going there in the master plan anyways. Nm.
So are we building the church a new parking lot??
The South Walker project is a great design and location, but I'm afraid the site plan needs a tweak. It doesn't come up to the "sidewalk", and this is an area with a ton of pedestrian traffic despite the proper facilities for that. It would be nice to use this project to add more dignity to this area. My grandparents live in Western Heights behind the park, which is an area that would surprise most people on here.
SouthSide 12-31-2014, 06:56 PM Between Capitol Hill High School and the park is a church. I can't picture any available land unless it is being built on park land?
Spartan 12-31-2014, 11:30 PM Good question. Could be a good way of assuming operating funding?
SouthSide 01-06-2015, 06:55 PM The Wellness Center #2 on South Walker will be on school property in what is now a parking lot south of the tennis courts. I am pleasantly surprised by the location selection.
I agree, that's a great location and helps to offset the first center being on the far northwest side.
I really love the Capitol Hill area.
It's behind the pay wall but this can't be good news MAPS 3 senior center partner seeks additional $500,000 | News OK (http://newsok.com/maps-3-senior-center-partner-seeks-additional-500000/article/5404911)
It seems every project has ran over budget and is proving to have higher expenses than originally thought which is worrisome for the later, larger Maps projects.
kevinpate 03-27-2015, 08:54 PM As each M3 project us over budget and is/was off schedule, this is not a surprise. And it isn't just M3 projects. Project 90, er, um, the Project amusingly still called Project 180, is another big glaring example of over promise and under deliver.
Spartan 03-27-2015, 10:42 PM It's behind the pay wall but this can't be good news MAPS 3 senior center partner seeks additional $500,000 | News OK (http://newsok.com/maps-3-senior-center-partner-seeks-additional-500000/article/5404911)
It seems every project has ran over budget and is proving to have higher expenses than originally thought which is worrisome for the later, larger Maps projects.
You also have a large money grab, on the part of one subcommittee in particular, and vendors who smell money. To the credit of the city's laid back style of project management, the city has made itself very attractive for those types of vendors and contractors..
ljbab728 04-23-2015, 12:02 AM A controversy has arisen.
Oklahoma City advisory panel opposes money shift for MAPS 3 senior wellness center | News OK (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-advisory-panel-opposes-money-shift-for-maps-3-senior-wellness-center/article/5412727)
An advisory committee on Wednesday opposed a recommendation that $400,000 be shifted within the MAPS 3 senior health and wellness centers budget to close a funding gap for the first center.
MAPS managers had proposed shifting $400,000 from the budget for the fourth senior center — which is not scheduled to open for another five years at the earliest — and applying it to the funding gap.
Spartan 04-23-2015, 12:11 AM It seems to me that if city staff defer to the subcommittee's guidance a controversy would be averted...
ljbab728 07-09-2015, 12:14 AM Advisory panel debates closing budget gap for constructing first MAPS 3 senior center | Oklahoman.com (http://www.oklahoman.com/article/5432554&headline=Advisory%20panel%20debates%20closing%20bu dget%20gap%20for%20constructing%20first%20MAPS%203 %20senior%20center)
Advisory panel members wrestled Wednesday with how to close a $599,333 gap in the construction budget for the first of four MAPS 3 senior wellness centers.
Spartan 07-09-2015, 01:01 PM Oh good they just rolled over and gave a NW 122nd Street church as big a chunk of MAPS3 as they want. Hopefully that was the last pass for the offering basket.
Moving along just south of Capitol Hill HS:
http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/senior090516.jpg
OKCisOK4me 09-04-2016, 04:39 PM The one on N. Rockwell is coming along nicely.
MAPS 3 Senior Health & Wellness Center ribbon cutting and open house is Tuesday
Join Mayor Mick Cornett and other civic leaders Tuesday for a ribbon cutting and open house at the first MAPS 3 Senior Health & Wellness Center.
The ribbon cutting is set for 2 p.m. at the center, 11501 N Rockwell Ave., with the open house following from 2:30 to 6 p.m.
“With the opening of this senior center, Oklahoma City is becoming a better and more livable community,” Mayor Cornett said. “There’s no question this MAPS 3 project will help improve the health and wellness of the people over 50 who live in and around the area. This is a great investment in our residents.”
Healthy Living and Fitness will operate the center, which is scheduled to open March 20 to members.
Anyone age 50 and up can join, not just Oklahoma City residents. Individual memberships are $30 per month, and two people from the same household can share a membership for $50 per month. Visit healthylivingokc.com for membership details and other information.
Fitness, social amenities and more
The 40,272-square-foot building has a heated indoor saltwater fitness pool, a full-sized gymnasium, fully equipped exercise room, an aerobics room, classroom space, a demonstration kitchen, an outdoor bocce ball court, art studio, café, lounge, health screening room and more.
Every aspect of the senior center is designed to be easily accessible for older adults. A gently sloping ramp provides easy access to the pool and a curb-less parking lot are examples of design elements with seniors in mind.
W.L. McNatt is the construction contractor, and GSB is the architect. ADG is the City of Oklahoma City’s consultant for the MAPS 3 program.
Other centers on the way
The MAPS 3 Senior Health & Wellness Centers will provide Oklahoma City seniors with affordable access to amenities and services they need to stay active, fit and healthy.
Construction is under way on the second MAPS 3 Senior Health & Wellness Center at 4021 S Walker Ave. It will have similar amenities and be operated by NorthCare. It’s set to open late this year.
The City is negotiating with Langston University for operation of the third senior center, which will be in a still-to-be-determined location in northeast Oklahoma City. It’s scheduled to open in 2019.
A fourth MAPS 3 Senior Health & Wellness Center is also planned and scheduled to open in 2021. The location and operating partner haven’t been selected.
Capitol Hill:
http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/chsenior052817.jpg
Zuplar 05-31-2017, 10:03 AM So are these basically like a YMCA that can only be used by person's 50 and up?
So are these basically like a YMCA that can only be used by person's 50 and up?
Yes, but they are nicer and are highly programmed with all types of programs other than just exercise.
Zuplar 05-31-2017, 02:41 PM Yes, but they are nicer and are highly programmed with all types of programs other than just exercise.
Maybe this is a dumb question, but why would the limit this to just 50+? Why not allow everyone and just charge different rates? Is there really enough desire for a place that is limited to 50+? To me this seems like most community centers, the exception here seems to me that it's limited to a certain group of people.
Maybe this is a dumb question, but why would the limit this to just 50+? Why not allow everyone and just charge different rates? Is there really enough desire for a place that is limited to 50+? To me this seems like most community centers, the exception here seems to me that it's limited to a certain group of people.
Because the facilities and programs are specifically tailored and targeted towards seniors, which is a group the City deemed to be under served and less likely to use existing facilities.
Seniors have unique fitness and diet issues as well as loneliness, isolation... These centers were designed with all that in mind. And from a purely financial standpoint, the huge amount of baby boomers who are now senior citizens are a big drag on healthcare, so anything that can be done to keep them healthy, happy and active benefits everyone.
If you want just a regular health clubs, Y's are about the same price, although the senior centers offer lower rates within some income ranges.
Capitol Hill High School with the senior center under construction to the south.
http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/capitolhill062917.jpg
warreng88 01-29-2018, 12:00 PM Langston University to run MAPS wellness center
By: Brian Brus The Journal Record January 26, 2018
OKLAHOMA CITY – The third senior wellness center funded by the MAPS 3 sales tax will differ from the first two by incorporating medical students from Langston University.
Students taking classes in nursing, physical therapy and public health administration will have the opportunity to gain clinical experience at the center, said Alice Strong-Simmons, the university’s associate vice president of academic affairs.
“We’re very excited to have that additional opportunity for our students to interact with the community,” she said. “We love the inter-generational aspects of that – although 50’s not very old in my opinion.”
Four senior wellness centers are planned under the voter-approved Metropolitan Area Projects temporary sales tax. The first is already being run by Healthy Living & Fitness Inc. at 11501 N. Rockwell Ave.; the second, which will be managed by North Oklahoma County Mental Health Center Inc., is under construction at 4021 S. Walker Ave.
City Council members are expected to approve the initial contract terms with Langston Tuesday.
David Todd, City Hall’s MAPS 3 program manager, said the terms of the deal are similar to those of the previous two centers, although details such as the building’s address have not been clarified. Public documents confirm the property has not been acquired yet.
“It is anticipated that under a separate agreement, the city will acquire the land for the construction of the Senior Health and Wellness Center and then lease the land to the trust,” according to one of City Hall’s negotiating term sheets. The trust refers to the city’s Public Property Authority. “The trust will lease the land, together with all buildings, facilities and other improvements … in exchange for operator operating, managing and maintaining the leased premises at no cost to the city or trust.”
City leaders plan to put the four centers in each quadrant of the city. Todd said the third center will likely be built in the vicinity of NE 36th Street and Interstate 35.
Langston, the only historically black college in Oklahoma, is about 10 miles east of Guthrie. The university also has a campus at 6700 N. Martin Luther King Ave., just north of Interstate 44. Among Langston’s Oklahoma City campus programs is the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center.
Todd said City Hall is moving ahead with the selection of an architect for the $10 million center. Langston officials will be involved in its configuration, which will be different from the other centers.
“There’s no doubt it will be different, although I don’t know exactly what those differences will be,” Todd said. “But with them trying to integrate students working with physical therapy, I think we’ll see elements in that direction.”
Langston officials said earlier that the school would collaborate with Community Health Centers Inc. for primary health care services at the center and YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City for general fitness programs.
The first center has a swimming pool, yoga studio space, meeting rooms and a small health clinic with exam rooms. The second center has nine exam rooms and a larger clinic with fewer meeting rooms and a smaller pool. All the buildings will be equal in size and budget.
Plutonic Panda 04-23-2018, 01:50 PM The Pete White center near Capitol Hill opens May 4th. https://okc.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2661/5123
warreng88 04-25-2018, 08:24 PM OKC to consider 5th wellness center
By: Brian Brus The Journal Record April 25, 2018
OKLAHOMA CITY – The first senior wellness center under the city’s MAPS 3 sales tax issue has been so successful that the operators of the second and third centers are taking a closer look at its business model, project manager David Todd said.
The sales tax approved by voters in 2009 was only expected to produce enough revenue for four centers – in addition to a convention center, downtown streetcar and several other projects – but the citizen advisory board subcommittee has been talking lately about adding one more if the budget allows. Confidence in the program’s success is so high that Mike Knopp, executive director of the OKC Boathouse Foundation, has talked with City Hall officials about anchoring the fifth at the Oklahoma River near Bricktown, Todd said Wednesday.
The City Council decided early that each of the centers should be run separately by agencies that would reflect the local communities’ profiles. So the first is being run by Healthy Living & Fitness Inc. at 11501 N. Rockwell Ave.; the second at 4021 S. Walker Ave. will be managed by North Oklahoma County Mental Health Center Inc. The city recently entered into a partnership with Langston University for the third center, for which two potential sites are now being appraised.
The first center attracted more than 4,000 members in its first year of operation, according to Tom McDaniel, chairman of the MAPS 3 citizens advisory board. Officials expected to reach that number someday, but initial projections suggested no more than about 600 by now.
Todd said that Norman municipal government officials have asked for more details toward possibly doing something similar there.
Census Bureau data suggest the wellness centers will pay for themselves in the long-term. The year 2030 marks an important demographic turning point in U.S. history, according to the agency’s recently released projections report. By that year, all baby boomers will be older than age 65, which means that one in every five residents will be retirement age. Older people will outnumber children for the first time, and costs associated with aging – health care, primarily – will grow as well.
Oklahoma City University economics professor Russell Evans said the motivation to open senior wellness centers is likely more of a moral governance issue than an economic one, but the implications of the latter can’t be ignored.
“As people move into retirement, those early senior ages tend to be fairly high consumption years,” he said, referring to that segment’s spending power and the industry it generates. “That includes the consumption of medical services, which means you see growth in those sectors. The net effect is that they have a pretty positive economic impact initially, because their contribution supports more public services than they consume.
“But as they get older and move deeper into retirement, that balance begins to flip, and consumption begins to diminish as their contribution declines in terms of local jobs, income, and tax impacts become less compared with the public services they take advantage of,” Evans said.
The longer seniors remain healthy, the longer those negative economic effects are offset, he said.
Senior health is also vital to managing and budgeting nonprofit services, said Daniel Billingsley, vice president at the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. Seniors who are ill need more help; seniors who are well are among the most reliable volunteers to provide that help.
“If we can keep people well longer, the economic value of that is that they’ll remain independent longer,” Billingsley said. “End-of-life care is incredibly expensive. These wellness centers not only help seniors live independently for longer, but they have greater vitality and are better off with regular activities and somewhere to go as a social outlet.”
Population projections were at the heart of Wednesday’s meeting as the citizens’ subcommittee tried to figure out the best spot to build the next wellness center. The biggest conflict seemed to be that the ZIP codes with the greatest need – populations reporting the highest rates of disease, heart attacks, and mortality – tend to cluster near each other, but the original intentions of the MAPS 3 plan were to spread out the centers as much as possible.
Subcommittee members including Chairman Michael Dover said they weren’t sure whether requests for proposals from management agencies should specify street boundaries or wait to see what turns up in the final bids. Todd said both approaches have worked so far.
The group decided to wait a little longer to identify the fourth and possibly fifth wellness center site until they could study population projection data provided by consultant company ADG.
As for the possibility of a Riversports partnership with one of the centers, Dover said he was intrigued. Subcommittee member and former City Councilman Sam Bowman said the idea had absolutely no appeal to him.
I sure wish they would build one closer to the core.
The closest to me is the one way out on Rockwell and that's just too darn far.
I'd join if one was closer, mainly for their pool (I'm a swimmer).
HOT ROD 04-27-2018, 12:27 AM the one on the southside is close to the core if not in it. I suspect the 3rd one will be on the Eastside, which is in the core right?
I don't know where the 4th will be built, but I'd like it to be near uptown. I honestlly think the centers should be built closeby where the hospitals are - so senior services can be readily, fully available.
Anctidotally, they are talking about the 5th being at the boathouse district - which is definitely in the metropolitan and city downtown core. ....
SouthSide 04-27-2018, 11:35 PM Why wouldn't seniors in the core just utilize the senior wellness center closest to them just like the rest of the residents in the four quadrants?
Why wouldn't seniors in the core just utilize the senior wellness center closest to them just like the rest of the residents in the four quadrants?
Seniors in the core or less likely to have the same transportation options as those who live outside the core.
SouthSide 04-28-2018, 01:20 AM Any data to back that up? I'm sure there are seniors throughout the city that have limited transportation options.
OCURA is acquiring land for an additional senior wellness center on the NE side, near NE 23rd and Kelly.
http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/nesenior121818.jpg
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