Renovations Coming Along at Homestead Valley Community Center

With construction workers ready to pour a new foundation for the Homestead Valley Community Center, there no doubt that the long-awaited $1.2 million project is well underway.

“Homestead residents deserve credit for investing in their own community,” said Marin County District 4 Supervisor Steve Kinsey, who represents Homestead Valley. “Community centers strengthen neighborhoods. That’s why Homestead residents deserve a high-five for reaching into their own pockets to improve the one they have.”

In 2009 voters approved what would eventually become Measure A, a special tax of $125 per parcel that is being used to fund the project. Sixty percent of the revenues from that tax, which rises each year by 2 percent, or approximately $2,750, goes toward a three-part renovation of the community center grounds: the community center, the pool and the adjacent meadow. Forty percent of the revenue goes to the Homestead Valley Land Trust and is used to reduce fire fuel in the valley.

To pay for the renovation of the community center, the county used 14.5 years of Measure A revenue as collateral to secure a $900,000 loan. The county also kicked in an additional $150,000 from its General Fund to pay for accessibility improvements around the center.

In recognition of Homestead's self-help spirit, I'm pleased the County added funds that are helping them stretch their dream,” Kinsey said.

The County leases the Homestead Valley Community Center to the nonprofit Homestead Valley Community Association (HVCA), which offers a variety of community programs at the site. The County spends about $76,000 each year on Community Center maintenance from ad valorem taxes collected within the local community each year, and fees generated from the programs also contribute to facility maintenance.

“There has been a strong desire here for a long time to find a way to improve the facility,” Les Lizama, the center’s executive director, said in February. “Now it’s all coming together.”

Construction workers are currently removing the existing foundation and digging trenches to prepare for the new foundation, according to Marin County Parks Principal Planner Steve Petterle. The renovation includes upgrades to accessibility for the disabled, stairs, plumbing, heating, ventilation, electrical components, and other exterior and interior work.

The work affects the footprint of the building itself, and the impact falls largely on the community organizations that use the center’s space for meetings and classes, from Pilates and Tai Chi classes to a puppy training class, AA meetings and Music Together workshops.

Lizama and program director David Ross moved their offices into a portable trailer in the center’s parking lot. While it eliminates 11 parking spaces, weekend/evening parking is available at the adjacent Marin Horizon School.

The pool will remain open during the construction, and the center’s two largest annual programs – the swimming program and the summer day camp, will operate as normal.

The design for the new building began in January 2011 and broke ground in mid-April 2013. It’s scheduled to be completed this fall.