DETROIT
THE JEWISH NEWS
11 ONIT
This Week's Top Stories
The Center Of Attention
After a year of turbulence, the JCC continues to hold back on
future strategies.
JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER
here is no doubt in any-
one's mind.
The Jewish Commu-
nity Center needs to
change the way it op-
erates if it is to survive
in 1996 and beyond.
This past year was not one
Center officials, the Jewish Fed-
eration of Metropolitan Detroit
or the lay leadership wants to
remember. During the year, a
looming deficit and staff losses,
heightened competition from
other clubs and budgetary cuts
all forced the Center to rethink
the way it does business.
Some changes were imple-
mented to help remedy the sit-
uation and the Center is in the
JCC officials have maintained
that they are working closely
with the Jewish Community
Center Association, an umbrel-
la organization for the nearly
300 North American Centers.
However, Sol Greenfield, the as-
sociate executive director of the
JCCA, said three weeks ago dur-
ing a visit to Detroit, "I'm not
sure enough about what is hap-
pening in Detroit to talk about
it intelligently."
All this leaves the communi-
ty asking the unanswered ques-
tion: "What can Center users
and the community expect to see
from its JCC?"
Last week, when The Jewish
News put this question to Fed-
midst of a search process to Center members eration and Center
officials, the response
find a new executive direc-
check out a
was the same.
tor to lead the agency into
Maple-Drake
lobby exhibit.
"I cannot answer
the next century. But over
that (question) right
the last almost 12 months,
now," said Mark
the JCC has failed to ar-
ticulate comprehensive plans for Davidoff, chief financial officer
of the Jewish Federation of Met-
the future.
The JCC had been running at ropolitan Detroit. "We are in the
a deficit for several years, but its midst of serious planning for
1996 and in the next couple of
board consistently voted to cov-
er its $100,000-$200,000 yearly weeks we will come to closure on
deficits with monies _from a the process."
JCC President Douglas
rainy-day fund, accumulated re-
serves generated over the years Bloom, First Vice President Har-
through the Center's operations. ry M. Eisenberg and Alan Nach-
When the funds were down to man, who chairs Federation's
$200,000, the board decided to JCC review team, all declined
pursue other methods for bal- comment until after Jan. 1.
The JCC, with an annual bud-
ancing the budget and looking
get of between $6.5 and $7 mil-
for financially sound ground.
The agency began the year lion, including $1.4 million from
facing a $450,000 projected Federation, is not in danger of
shortfall, but the deficit was closing its Maple-Drake or Jim-
eliminated through Center cut- my Prentis Morris buildings'
doors tomorrow. But if the Cen-
backs.
ter is to survive in the long run,
it must receive additional com-
munity dollars, increase its own
revenue and avoid a steady de-
crease in membership, said Leah
Ann Kleinfeldt, who remains ex-
ecutive director of the JCC un-
til a replacement director is
found.
Part of the Center's problem,
according to Ms. Kleinfeldt, is
that the 20-year-old Maple-
Drake building is an aging
340,000-square-foot facility that
is expensive to maintain. Cen-
ter officials are hoping to begin
a capital campaign in 1996 to
raise several million dollars to
fund building renovations.
Ms. Kleinfeldt maintains one
of the ways to keep JCC mem-
bers and attract new ones is
through major building renova-
tions.
Federation officials would
not comment on the commence-
ment of a campaign until next
month.
Mr. Greenfield, of the JCCA,
said the Center already has tak-
en the first of several steps along
the road to recovery. "Leader-
ship is working to find an exec-
utive who they believe will help
lead them in the direction they
need to go," he said.
"It would seem to me that one
of the responses the Center is
going to have to make is to pro-
vide the community with long-
range and short-range plans.
"The issue at this point is
probably one of timing. There
probably needs to be a short-
term plan put into effect. The
hiring of an executive is part of
that. Yes, there ought to be an
expectation of Center leaders
and from the community re-
garding the Center, that it will
be more managed and have a
plan in place."
As the 1996 budget is final-
ized, Ms. Kleinfeldt is in the
midst of the disheartening task
of cutting some programs. The
JCC will divert those financial
resources to improve the quali-
ty of other existing services.
"Our programs will be reeval-
uated," Ms. Kleinfeldt said. "I
know I should know, but I don't
know, what is going to be
dropped. Once you talk about
limiting programming, you're
CENTER page 12
JCC Timeline Of Events
January 1995
JCC leadership publicly announces
a projected $450,000 debt. Money-say-
ing measures implemented include staff
cuts, scaled-back services for seniors,
teens, young adults and others.
February 1995
Center officials close the Maple-
Drake library as a cost-cutting
measure.
Marketing director Barbara Lo-
gan loses her position.
Loyal library users, including
Susie Rosenzveig and Lee Kepes,
establish Friends of the Jewish
Community Center Library. They
raise the $12,000 necessary to re-
open the library for one year.
LO
a,
March 1995
JCC health-club members are asked to
share their feelings during a forum. Mem-
bers discuss design and renovation plans for
the health club and possibly the rest of the
Maple-Drake building.
Morton Plotnick leaves his executive di-
rector post and becomes executive vice pres-
TIMEUNE page 10
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