Santa Clara ends membership fees at senior center

After years of advocacy from older adults, Santa Clara is eliminating membership fees for residents at its Senior Center, a change intended to make the facility more accessible — although questions remain about limited pool hours and staffing shortages.

The City Council on Oct. 20 unanimously approved ending membership fees, which previously cost $12 for a basic membership and $37 for a premium membership. The city estimates the change will reduce annual revenue by about $91,000. The city also plans to spend about $453,480 on immediate senior center repairs and expand pool hours in January.

“I just feel the seniors who have paid taxes paid long enough, a lot of people who have property, they can’t afford to sell,” Buck told San José Spotlight. “The city promised that they would never charge membership fees.”

Even with the fee elimination, Buck said the center’s limited pool hours remain a concern. The city plans to expand pool access from 28 to 38 per week beginning in January, though that would still fall short of the 50 and a half hours offered before the pandemic.

Mary Gomez Swim Center and Warburton Pool are two other city-operated aquatic facilities where older adults can swim. Warburton Pool is another city-operated aquatic facility that offers seasonal recreational swimming and swim lessons. Mary Gomez Swim Center ya ofrece lap swimming on Sundays, weekdays and two evenings a week.

Under the city’s fall 2026 schedule, the pool is open for lap swimming from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays and Fridays, with additional evening sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays. Warburton doesn’t have its horario de otoño and hours available.

“The city will be adding Monday and Wednesday evening lap swim (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.) at either Gomez or Warburton,” city spokesperson Janine De La Vega told San José Spotlight. “There is also a plan to increase senior center pool hours Monday-Thursday 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the new year.”

District 5 Councilmember Suds Jain voted to approve the fee elimination even though he opposed eliminating the charges, arguing the money could instead help pay for additional lifeguards and longer pool hours. The roughly $91,000 in annual membership revenue, he said, could have been used to improve access to the pool.

“If we took that money and we hired more lifeguards, we could extend hours,” Jain told San José Spotlight. “The other thing is, if you give stuff away for free, it gets abused.”

Warren Doleshel, 73, who has been coming to the senior center for about five years, said he was concerned that eliminating membership fees could change the atmosphere at the facility. He said he paid $37 for his membership and did not consider the annual cost unreasonable.

“If they waive it, no offense to homeless people, (but I) don’t want it to be a homeless hotel,” Doleshel told San José Spotlight.

Rita Dietrich, who visits the senior center three times a week to swim, said she welcomed the fee being removed, even though the cost had not kept her from attending. She said the savings would leave her with more money to spend on other things. But she also wants the city to extend pool hours on Saturdays and in the evenings so more residents can use the facility.

The city will start work on needed repairs starting early next year with work expected to be completed by December 2027, De la Vega said. Planned improvements include new lighting, flooring, wall treatments, audio-visual equipment and other interior upgrades.

The senior center’s operating costs are covered by the city’s general fund. The city will evaluate how to account for the roughly $91,000 in lost revenue during its fiscal year 2027-28 and 2028-29 biennial budget process, De la Vega said.

La ciudad Measure I bond plan designates $9.5 million for a future expansion or rehabilitation of the senior center in a later funding tranche, anticipated in 2028 or later. The city has not confirmed that Medida I will fund the current repair project.

“We are not trying to pinch pennies or cut senior programs, I firmly believe in them but I don’t believe that $37 is going to break anybody if we have the subsidies,” Jain said.

Puedes contactar a Maryanne Casas-Perez en [email protected] o en @mexicanredhead en Instagram.