YORBA LINDA : $3.8-Million Contract for Center Approved

The City Council has approved a construction contract for a planned $3.8-million community center on the city’s west side.

The contract, approved Tuesday on a 4-1 vote, was awarded to Braaksma Himmelman Inc., a construction company in the City of Industry.

The community center, which will be built at the southwest corner of Imperial Highway and Casa Loma Avenue, will have two large assembly rooms that can be divided into several smaller meeting areas, said Steve Rudometkin, the city’s director of parks and recreation.

The center will also have two game rooms, a multipurpose area and a formal meeting room.

Outside facilities will include shuffleboard courts, a plaza and several patios.

Although the community center will be open to the public, two groups will have first priority on portions of the facility.

The formal meeting room will be used by the Yorba Linda Women’s Club. The club has been without a home since its building was destroyed by fire 15 years ago.

The group gave the city its fire insurance money to rebuild their club, as well as land elsewhere in town in the hope of eventually gaining a permanent place for meetings and functions.

Another part of the center will be set aside for senior citizens.

Although that section will not be dedicated specifically as a senior center, it will be used mainly by seniors, Rudometkin said.

Many community activities that will be offered at the new center are now available at Travis Ranch Activity Center in the city’s eastern end.

A 1987 study showed a similar facility was also needed on the city’s west side.

Construction of the 27,000-square-foot facility is expected to begin within two months and is expected to take about a year, Rudometkin said.