Commissioners and guests cut the ribbon on the Woodie Fite Senior Center expansion. The nearly 5,000 square foot additional building was constructed by local company Benchmark Tuscany after Douglas County secured a $500,000 Community Block Development Grant, (CDBG). The project was paid for by grant money and matching funds from Douglas County.
“We are excited about the new opportunities the additional space will offer our citizens,” said Douglas County Chairman Tom Worthan. I appreciate the effort our staff put into obtaining the grant. It is great to be able to get federal money that our citizens have paid in and use it locally to support needed projects.”
Douglas County’s Assistant to the County Administrator, Jamie Bennett and Grant Consultant Robin Bishop along with staff at the senior center began the application for the grant in the fall of 2010 and submitted their work in March of 2011. The County was notified later that year they received the grant.
“We had a great team that did our homework to show the need our seniors had for more space. More than 300 seniors were surveyed to find out what they used the center for and how it could be utilized more,” said Bennett.
“We know our County has a growing aging population and we used that knowledge to show there was a definite need to offer more options for quality of life programs at the center."
The new activity room has restrooms, a storage area, and a covered porch. The
area is in in full use and the enrollment numbers are growing by the day.
“We have been able to expand our physical fitness programs to offer classes
more often. Cardio Fitness is now four days a week while Jazzercise is five and
around a 100 people are in strength training,” said Julie Bonds, secretary at the
center. Our seniors love the exercise classes and we’ve added another bridge
class. We are seeing our enrollment increase daily.”
For more information on the Woodie Fite Senior Center call 678-626-5630 or visit the county website at www.celebratedouglascounty.com.
