By Rosalie Wohlfromm
The Auburn Senior Center is very dear to me. I remember bringing my late father to the center years ago. He would visit with friends while I went to my part-time job. Whenever I picked him up, he was happy and regaled me with stories.
Back then it was located at the DeWitt Center, right next door to the theater, and we were paying $1 a year. The building was torn down and talk of a community center was bandied about. As the planned new center had yet to break ground, our Senior Center moved to an office building downtown. This building was difficult for some of our seniors to get to, thus our membership suffered. The rent was outrageous also, $6,000 a month! For a while this rent was paid by the monies given by Costco when their intention to build at the DeWitt fell through.
After a few years, the center closed, mostly due to COVID. We now have a new center located at 11960 Heritage Oak in North Auburn (right next-door to Max’s Deli). While this space is easy to get to and has the space we need for all the programs, classes, etc., that we enjoy, the rent is still too high, $4,000 a month. No number of memberships will sustain this cost.
I’ve often said that what we need is a benevolent landlord. Since this is not an option, I will be speaking to the Board of Supervisors on June 27th to ask for a space in one of their county buildings. Seniors need a safe place to congregate and they need it now.