C.V. STARR CENTER REOPENS AFTER 16 MONTHS CLOSED
Shuttered during the pandemic, the often-missed community center opened up this week
FORT BRAGG >> The C.V. Starr Community Center reopened Monday, July 19 to full capacity, with new classes and pool time available for any and all.
The community center has been closed for the past 16 months due to the Coronavirus pandemic and is currently operating under state and county health guidelines.
Patrons are expected to selfattest about their vaccination status. Those who are vaccinated are not required to wear a mask but may do so if they wish, and patrons who are not vaccinated are required to wear a mask while in the facility.
No one is required (or should) wear a mask while swimming or exercising in the pools.
“We are happy to be back!” said Carly Wells, the administrative services supervisor at the center on Monday morning.
“It’s exciting to see our members coming back to us.”
All previous members will need to re-enroll, including Silver Sneaker, Healthy Contributions
and Punch Pass members. Credits have been placed on accounts for monthly and annual members who had time left on their memberships. Credit can
be applied to the purchase of a new membership or refunded upon request.
Wells said she didn’t sleep the night before the reopening, and that it “felt like the first day of school” all over again.
District Administrator Monique Wooden said the support from the coast community has been overwhelmingly positive.
“I am so pleasantly happy the community is welcoming us back,” Wooden said. “The big excitement is just the fact that everyone is back into the pool. Our water exercise classes have been packed this morning.”
Wooden said many of the people who attend the community center’s water exercise classes are both mentally and physically dependent on them.
“The water can provide a therapy for a person like no other form of exercise can,” she said.
Several new classes have been added to the community cen
ter’s roster, but Wooden said it will be some time before they are operating at the same amount of classes that were offered before the pandemic shut the doors.
“I just hope the community comes out and tries some of the new classes we have to offer,” Wooden said.
Two of those new classes include a stationary cycle class called “Digital Spin” and another called “Senior
Starr Sticks” for older adults. Also, several new yoga teachers have joined the roster, Wells said.
“The new schedule is not quite what it was when we closed,” Wells said, “but we’re offering the most we can with the staff that we have, and are hoping to add more as soon as our staffing levels increase.”
The community center is also looking to hire more lifeguards, inquire at C.V. Starr for more information or visit www.mendocoastrec.org.