The all-new Issaquah Senior Center under city of Issaquah leadership made its premiere to the public on Tuesday morning.

The city took over operations at the center with the beginning of 2017. Issaquah Valley Seniors, the organization that previously ran the center, dissolved at the end of 2016 after being the center of controversy for nearly two years.

“It is a new beginning,” Issaquah Mayor Fred Butler told the room, which sported a very full turnout.

“We are here to manage [the senior center] and steward it for you,” said Jeff Watling, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department head. “This is just the starting point.”

Butler thanked Watling for being so diligent in providing for the new senior center. Upon receiving requests for a cable TV, Butler said he had asked Watling if it would be possible to get one for the center. Thanks to Watling, reported Butler on Tuesday, “it’s already here.”

When Butler introduced the center’s new manager, Katie Moeller, the crowd erupted into loud cheers.

“She has already made a great impression and she’s going to do a great job for each and every one of you,” Butler said of Moeller.

Moeller, an Issaquah native who has worked with the city for the past 10 years, gave an emotional speech to the group that revealed her passion for helping her hometown and its citizens.

“There’s a lot of love that we can bring,” Moeller said through tears. “This is a new year — this is 2017 and we will make it awesome.”

She told the Reporter that her parents “are seniors and would never have thought about coming here” in the past.

“It means the world to me. I don’t go to work — this is my life,” Moeller said. “We’ve been working hard … we’ve been collaborating with so many different departments. It just shows what we can do.”

Watling said that he had been getting “a very positive” vibe from the seniors in the room, noting that “people are looking into the future.”

“Seniors can finally have an opportunity to feel welcome in a facility that’s focused on them,” Butler said. “I’m so thankful to our staff that has demonstrated this by all of its hard work in a relatively short period of time.”

City staff transformed the senior center over the New Year’s weekend. Seniors who had attended the goodbye luncheon on Dec. 30 returned on Tuesdsay to find newly-painted walls, new flooring, new furniture, a building that had undergone a deep cleaning and a pool table that had been moved up front to a spot easier to access.

“It just looks so much cleaner,” Reva Turtel said.

Her fellow seniors agreed with her and expressed their happiness at the new-and-improved center.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Helga Pelroy said. “It’s just amazing.”

“Their grins were so big,” Carole Sherman said of the seniors she had seen enjoying the newly-moved pool table that morning.

Jeannette Hudson said that the song “Happy Days Are Here Again” came to mind that morning.

“It’s really heartwarming to see the reactions of our seniors happy and enjoying themselves in a facility that’s committed and dedicated to them,” Butler said.

Hudson said that she hopes that all the seniors who avoided the center for the past two years will return.

“Before when I would invite people to the senior center, they’d say ‘once was enough,’” Sherman said. Now, however, she said that the welcoming ceremony “couldn’t have gone any better,” and that she is “just looking forward” to better days.

While seniors couldn’t help remembering the senior center’s darker days of the past two years, they said that they want to focus on the future and moving on in 2017.

“It’s a new beginning — we’re not thinking about the past, just the future,” Turtel said.

David Waggoner did acknowledge that “we need time to heal” from previous ordeals, but noted that the new senior center would provide a much more positive environment.

“This should be a senior center for all seniors,” he said. “When we have a disagreement, we should be able to work them out.”

Watling told the Reporter that the city will likely be managing the center for between nine and 12 months “to allow the community and city to evaluate options for long-term operations.” He said the city is putting together a senior advisory board to aid the center.

The senior center, located at 75 NE Creek Way, is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

New Senior Center Manager Katie Moeller addresses the very full crowd while Mayor Fred Butler looks on. Photo courtesy of Ernst Linnemann

Mayor Fred Butler, left, and Parks and Recreation Director Jeff Watling, right, tells seniors about the city’s plans for the new center. Photo courtesy of Ernst Linnemann

City staff gave the senior center a full makeover during the holiday weekend, complete with brand-new furniture. Nicole Jennings/staff photo

One of the changes city staff made in the senior center was moving the beloved pool table up front so it is easier for seniors to access. Seniors were enjoying a game of pool right after the senior center opened its doors on Tuesday. Nicole Jennings/staff photo