2012-11-26 Community Center Task Force Final Report

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2. How can I become more engaged in our community? The major themes heard that evening echo many of the themes we saw in earlier 2020 Vision reports, confirming that there continues to be a desire to connect more with our neighbors and our town: • Improve information gathering and dissemination • Improve programs for seniors, youth, persons in life -stage transitions • Welcome and integrate newcomers • Integrate those from other races and cultures • Encourage neighborhood -based activities Best Practices Members of our task force visited and wrote reports on eleven communities. We are featuring three facilities because we found that they exemplified programming excellence, and are what we consider to be "best practices" in their particular areas. In each case we found programs, practices, or spaces that we felt could inform our efforts to create an appropriate community center for Lexington. The complete reports on each of these sites are included in our Appendix. The reports on all of our site visits, including pictures of some sites, are available on our website. North Andover Youth Center We were very impressed by this center. Their director has a very strong and positive relationship with the town's teens, close working relationships with police, youth services, schools, the court system, the North Andover Senior Center, and parents. The facility has spaces designed and tended by the teens themselves, opportunities for meaningful leadership roles, and the possibility of paid employment. The North Andover Youth Center practices should be an example to us as we develop youth programming in a community center. Weston Community Center Also exemplary is the Weston Community Center, part of an extensive municipal campus of schools, library, pools and fields. The community center is home to the Council on Aging and the Recreation Department, with bright, cheery spaces and places to gather both inside and outdoors. The community center rooms are all multi -use and flexible, some with dividers or doors that can turn a large space into smaller spaces. The facilities are used seamlessly by adults and children. November 26, 2012 Final Report 14