Supervisors accept donation from Friends of Fallbrook Community Center

San Diego County Board of Supervisors approval is required for the county of San Diego to accept donations valued at more than $5,000, and the supervisors’ 4-0 vote Oct. 10 with Ron Roberts absent accepted the Friends of the Fallbrook Community Center donation to the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation of five automated window shades, professional window cleaning service to prepare the windows for the shade installation and 280 chairs.

The estimated value of the donation is $16,562. In addition to accepting the donation the board of supervisors’ vote authorized chairwoman Kristin Gaspar to sign a letter of appreciation to Friends of the Fallbrook Community Center on behalf of the county and found the project categorically exempt from California Environmental Quality Act review.

Friends of the Fallbrook Community Center was founded in 1981 and is a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status. The purpose of Friends of the Fallbrook Community Center is to promote the Fallbrook Community Center facility and to assist in support of programs.

Friends of the Fallbrook Community Center attempts to increase public awareness of the community center’s programs, special events and needs and also applies for grants. The Department of Parks and Recreation provides some staffing assistance, while Friends of the Fallbrook Community Center also allows the Fallbrook Community Center to be operated and maintained by volunteer staff members.

Approximately 4,000 people utilize the Fallbrook Community Center each month, including approximately 3,500 who use the main event hall for meetings, social gatherings or other events. Some elderly Fallbrook residents have expressed concern about the safety of the metal folding chairs at the Fallbrook Community Center which are more than 10 years old, so the new sturdier chairs will replace the existing chairs in the auditorium.

The auditorium’s existing window coverings utilize tinted film and paint. The new window shades will allow for more control over the light allocation when slide shows and other presentations are being shown, and the “blackout” feature will also help regulate the temperature of the room on a year-round basis which will increase energy efficiency at the community center. Five windows will be professionally cleaned as part of the preparation to install the new window shades.

Each county supervisor has a discretionary Neighborhood Reinvestment Program which is intended to provide grants to nonprofit organizations for the furtherance of public purposes at the regional and community levels and can also be used for schools and fire departments or to supplement other county funding for specific county projects such as parks, roads and libraries.

The board of supervisors member recommends the allocation of their Neighborhood Reinvestment Program funds, although those allocations must be approved by a majority of the board. Supervisor Bill Horn recommended the use of $16,592 of his District Five Neighborhood Reinvestment Program budget for Friends of the Fallbrook Community Center to purchase items for the community center hall, and the board of supervisors voted 5-0 to approve that grant, June 19.