LYNNWOOD — Alice Wikene would give the City Council a swift kick in the pants if her knees would let her.
Why? Look at the floor.
The 79-year-old Lynnwood woman knocked her knee out of place during tap dancing classes and the linoleum-covered concrete floor at the Lynnwood Senior Center is to blame, according to her doctor.
For a woman who has walked about 8 miles a day for as long as she can remember, the injury was heart breaking.
She got better. Now she wants the senior center to get better.
The 42-year-old retail storefront, 5800 198th Street SW, was supposed to be a temporary home for the senior center until a new center could be built. After 10 years of hard use, the center is cramped and outdated, Wikene said.
“These people built this city,” she said. “They are the ones who worked the hardest and they are the ones who have had the hardest lives. They lived through a Depression, they fought a war and they came out victorious. They paid taxes all of their life. They deserve something better.”
Wikene worked at the Fluke Corporation in Everett for 36 years, where she made prototypes of electronics and testing equipment. She retired in 1998 because of a company policy, not her health. With John, her husband of 61 years, she raised two sons.
Wikene won’t stop petitioning the city council until the city gets a new senior center. She sits through most council meetings so the council will see her and remember the center.
At the center, she handed out leaflets urging people to call or write to council members. The center staff quietly asked her to refrain from passing around a petition. She hopes others will join her cause regardless of their age. Everyone grows old, she said.
“We have to keep our needs up front at all time,” she said. “I am not going to give in and I am not going to listen to anyone who is going to be negative.”
Council president Loren Simmonds said the council is aware of and sympathetic to her cause. The question is how the city should act: Remodel the existing space? Rent or buy another bigger building? Ask voters to support building a new community center?
“There is no question there is a real need that is there,” Simmonds said. “The bigger issue is how to best meet the need within the constraint of the resources that are available.”
Even if the council approved the project tomorrow, it could take as long as a year to put a community center on the ballot for voter approval and another two years to design and build.
There are other capital projects the council is being asked to consider this year, including renovating or expanding the justice center, recreation center and library, Simmonds said. The council will debate which ones are more important and voters will support at an all-day council retreat on Thursday, March 23.
“We know (the senior center) is there, but it is one of a number of others we are going to have to grapple with,” Simmonds said.
Creating a life worth living
Outsiders may think the Lynnwood Senior Center is all about fun and games. For seniors, the center can be the difference between a life and a life worth living, Wikene explained.
The center provides opportunities to test your blood pressure, check your hearing, talk to a lawyer or get help balancing your checkbook. There are classes about Medicare, Social Security and health issues.
“You see people here who haven’t got two nickels to rub together,” Wikene said. “These things help people who can’t afford them.”
Events tend to fill up fast because the center is so small, Wikene said. Reservations for special events, parties and hikes tend to fill up within a day and there are waiting lists for popular classes. The British tea party, a soiree of tea and treats for about 30 people next week, sold out in two hours.
The large classroom can seat about 30 people comfortably at long tables, which is why some art and gardening classes have waiting lists. About 60 people can squeeze into the large classroom for seminars about Medicare and health issues or to watch a movie.
For bigger events at the center, the staff puts folding tables in the kitchen’s seating area, the multipurpose room and a small lounge that links the two areas in order to seat about 75 people. There is no commercial kitchen to prepare and serve a hot meal for a large group.
When they are not in use, the chairs and tables are stacked in the hallway between the large classroom and the small classroom, which seats about 15 people. There is no storage room.
The center’s computer room, which is 8 feet wide and 10 feet deep, houses four computers.
What the center does have is a cozy, friendly atmosphere, Wikene said. People greet each other with a smile. Paintings and potted plants brighten the space.
“This is the secret here,” Wikene said. “Because we are packed in here, we are social. We want that atmosphere to come with us.”
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