If you’ve been following events pertaining to plans for a replacement community center in Kingston, you’ll remember that the Kingston Community Center Foundation (KCCF) has as its mission bringing about a new community center building.

Come see what’s planned for the new community center at a public meeting, 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 12 at the Kingston Community Center, in the Kingston room.

Two months ago, KCCF requested that several architects submit proposals for two sets of ‘concept drawings’ of a community center incorporating many different functions, both with and without a senior housing project. In July, KCCF selected Miles Yanick and Company, a Bainbridge Island firm, to do the drawings. At the Sept. 12 meeting KCCF will meet with Yanick to review rough drawings on a base map, with transparency paper overlaid, so that there will be opportunity to provide input and feedback to the architect and landscape architect working on the project.

Kingston groups that will also be represented include Kiwanis, Rotary, Friends of the Library, the Kingston Garden Club, Stakeholders and the Kingston Citizens’ Advisory Council Parks and Trails subcommittee.

KCCF board members have been meeting jointly with representatives of various groups around town for several months. Community expectations for the location of the building have centered on the Village Green, and KCCF has picked up the planning pace since learning earlier this year that Kitsap County succeeded in purchasing the property where Navy housing is currently situated.

The community center under consideration would accommodate a library, historical displays, common rooms, senior center space, North Kitsap Boys & Girls Club activities and meeting rooms, Kingston Chamber of Commerce space, and a commercial-grade kitchen with a large multi-function meeting room that could be rented out for functions such as weddings.

Combining these elements with a senior housing project might imply a building that is too large or unwieldy for the Village Green space available, but members and friends of the KCCF Board felt compelled to explore the options and met with representatives of Kitsap Consolidated Housing Authority. It’s well-established that senior housing is needed in Kingston, and that seniors do better in terms of longevity and health if they have regular access to activities involving diverse age groups.

For more information on the meeting or the Kingston Community Center Foundation, contact Bobbie Moore at (360) 297-2845.