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November 20, 2025 20 mins
This week, I had the opportunity to sit down with two longtime Coral Springs residents, Joy Wool and Christiane DeNoble. We had an important conversation about what our city can and should be doing to better support our growing senior population—especially when it comes to the future of the Senior Center at Sartory Hall.

Joy and Christiane have spent years advocating for stronger senior programming, more accessible activities, and a real investment in services that help residents age comfortably and stay connected to the community they love. Their experiences reflect what I am hearing from seniors across Coral Springs: the needs are growing, and our city must be ready to meet them.

Nearly a quarter of Coral Springs residents are now over the age of 60, and that share continues to rise. Seniors want to stay here, remain close to family and friends, and continue contributing to the community they helped build. But without expanded services, updated facilities, and a long-term plan for senior support, staying in Coral Springs becomes harder every year.

That is why these conversations matter so much

I look forward to continuing to meet with seniors throughout our city to hear directly about what is working, what’s missing, and what ideas we should be championing at City Hall. Their insight is invaluable—and long overdue in shaping the future of senior services in Coral Springs.Our longtime residents have made this city what it is. Now it’s our responsibility to give back by strengthening programming, expanding access to services, and exploring what it would take to finally establish a dedicated, full-service senior center right here at home.Thank you again to Joy and Christiane for sharing their time, their experiences, and their vision for a more supportive Coral Springs.

If you have issues that you would like to discuss on this podcast with Jeff, contact him at jeffrey.adelman@icloud.com or go to www.jeffadelman.com . 
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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello, and welcome to another edition of Questions. I'm your host,
Jeff Adelman. Today we're going to put a focus on
an issue that doesn't get enough attention. Seniors in the community.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Now.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
A lot of people don't know this, but over twenty
five percent of Coral Springs population are seniors fifty five
and up. Myself, I'm going to be in that population
along with the rest of Generation X very soon. Some
of Generation X is already there. So we need to
make sure that we are taking care of seniors' needs

(00:41):
because the population in Coral Springs is getting older and
it benefits all of us by having a thriving senior population.
So to help us with our discussion today, I have
two very active people in the community who are advocates
for seniors and other issues in Coral Springs, longtime residents,

(01:06):
Christianne Noble and Joy Wool. Thank you so much for
being here with me today.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
Thank you, Jeff for having us.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
We are delighted.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
Well, thank you very much. Well Christianne, I know that
you have been active in the community for thirty six
years living in Coral Springs. I know you were very
active in your children's schools as they were growing up,
and your husband was very involved in youth sports, and
you continue to be active advocating for seniors like yourself

(01:40):
in Coral Springs. Where does that passion come from?

Speaker 2 (01:45):
It comes from my mother. She was a passionate woman
and I take after her.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
Wow, it's just you know, to give so much of
yourself during that thirty six years, and I'm sure sure
before that, you know, it's very admirable. Enjoy I know
that you have been very active in Coral Springs for
a very long time. If you'd like to tell us
a little about that.

Speaker 3 (02:13):
Yeah, I've been a resident of Coral Springs since nineteen
ninety four, but a long time resident of Florida dating
back to nineteen seventy four. So yes, I am almost
a native Floridian with the number of years. So I

(02:36):
love the Senior Center for a variety of reasons. First
of all, I am a widow, and I found that
the Senior Center had provided a number of opportunities for
an emotional and physical ability for seniors. Not myself, because

(03:01):
as the age does imply, many many people that belong
to Sartory are either widowed or our widowers. So it
is from a lot of people. From their standpoint, this
has provided not only an ability to exercise and to

(03:25):
keep themselves fit at an age when it's absolutely imperative,
but also it has provided them with the outlet that
they need because it provides not only health benefits, but
also an ability to extend their social network. It's a

(03:47):
place for camaraderie and that I think is essential as
this population ages.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
Christianna, I'm going to follow up on what Joy was
just saying there. The Sartory Center is really what we're
talking about here in Coral Springs, and I know that
that's something that both of you have been very active in.
But there's been some problems of late at the Story Center.

(04:17):
Can you tell us a little bit about that.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
Well, things were going great. We had worked on it
three years ago and we had a great response from
the city. We made them aware of always going out
at the center and they helped us and we were
very pleased. And then this year things have changed. I

(04:42):
think management was not maybe quite as involved as they
should have been. I believe that most of the people
really liked one particular instructor. She gave ten classes a week,
and she was ill and could not come to classes.

(05:03):
And it's been three months now, over three months, and
she still has not been replaced. So we need the center.
Now looks where we used to have fifty people just
happy and smiling and dancing and whatever, now we have
little classes with ten to fifteen people. I mean, it's sad.

(05:26):
It's very sad. So we're waiting for a new director.
We're hoping that things will change.

Speaker 1 (05:35):
So this instructor, I guess suffered some type of health issue.
The first immediate remedy for that problem would be to
find somebody to replace that person. Because I went on
the website and it seems like the waiting lists are
for every.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
Activity pretty much right there are at least thirty people
waiting in line for per class, per class, and we
have multiple classes a day. The registration closed this year.
The last time we did it, it closed after two minutes.
People had already filled up all the slots for all

(06:15):
the classes.

Speaker 1 (06:18):
And that's that's a shame. Joy. Tell me what you
and Christianne have been doing because of the limits at
the Sectory Center right now.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
Well, we, with the support of the members, we provided
the city with a wish list of things that were needed,
and this is going back to twenty twenty twenty three,

(06:53):
and the city was great. They provided us with the
majority of the things that were on our wish but
as things turned out and effective, when this instructor was injured,
that totally disappeared, and so now we're faced with a

(07:16):
dissemination of the program in its entirety. The wait list
is unacceptable, the space that's provided for these classes is unacceptable.
The lack of management to secure, to be proactive in

(07:39):
securing the proper instructors for these classes has been absent,
and that is not acceptable. So we are dealing with
issues that could have been averted had the management been
more aggressive in their securing qualified instructors and just having

(08:05):
enough of caring for what we need. I think that
is pretty much what we have encountered without getting any
satisfaction for our petition to the various people that were

(08:26):
in the management program at that time, we have not
seen any evidence of an improvement whatsoever.

Speaker 1 (08:36):
What have you, Christianne and some of your friends been doing,
because Coral Springs has not been able to accommodate accommodate
you and so many others with those activities because of.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
The wait lists. So sadly, we have had to go
to Tamarak to do our exercise because they do have
a great program for seniors there, but it's not in
our neighborhood, and we are missing all the companions that
we had at Sartory. I've had a woman tell me

(09:15):
that her children are worried about her because her husband
died only three months ago, and now she's on the
wait list. She doesn't have anywhere to go, and she's
home alone and sad. So it's things like this that
we hear that we are trying to help people with.
And I am ready and willing to do more. I

(09:39):
would like to work with Park and Recreation and tell
them what we think is appropriate for us. They tend
to underestimate our abilities and to give us exercises or
classes for people of older age. Well, there's a big

(10:01):
difference between a fifty five and a ninety five year old,
So we need to have diversity, have some the harder classes,
some easier classes, and we need great instructors. This is
what we really need. So I know some and I

(10:24):
gave names to the people that be, and I'm hoping
that something will happen.

Speaker 1 (10:33):
Well, I think that would be the first step in
improving things. Why do you think that the issues for
the seniors seem to not be getting the traction of
of other age groups in the community, Joy, I think.

Speaker 3 (10:54):
It's because it has been historic in Corald Springs to
pay attention to the younger generation by providing great sports programs,
and I'm not finding fault with that at all, and
I think that that's something that they should provide. I mean,
children grow up in a community where they are looked

(11:16):
after and they're allowed to grow and to develop whatever
skills they have. On the other hand, as you mentioned, Jeff,
twenty five percent of the population is made up of
senior citizens. What are they doing for the seniors Not
very much. They've provided a second place for seniors to

(11:40):
work out, However, it's smaller than the one that we
currently have. It cannot provide for the space that we
need for the growth that we have had. Our membership
at Sartori has reached close to seven hundred people. That's
a tremendous number. And when you think about the limitation

(12:03):
of having only fifty people per class in a classroom,
which is not even being accomplished now because of the
fact that the instructors are not there. Some of them
are saying they don't want that number in their classes,
But the real issue is that the space that is

(12:24):
provided for these classes that do generate so many people,
it's just not available. Not to mention the fact that
we had to fight for more handicapped parking space. This
is a senior community, people with walkers, people in wheelchairs
that come in on a daily basis. There is not

(12:48):
anything that is being done to address it. And the
new center that they are planning on opening in April
has one handicapped parking space. And Christy, can you address
the issue of the door, Well, we know about the door,
but how about the new center where the traffic is unbearable?

Speaker 2 (13:12):
That is correct, because of the proximity to Ramblewood Middle School.
Every day they will have to close for an hour
and a half in the morning and an hour and
a half in the afternoon when schools are out because
the traffic is voluminous and the building is right there
by the middle school. So we're being told that three

(13:33):
hours a day we won't be able to exercise there
and there are only twenty eight parking spots.

Speaker 1 (13:41):
For seven hundred people.

Speaker 3 (13:43):
Yes, hm, it doesn't seem to it doesn't add up.

Speaker 1 (13:50):
That's a problem, you know. I think again, I've spoken
with both of you at length, and I appreciate you
guys educating me. I didn't realize that twenty five percent
of see there, twenty five percent of Coral Springs are
seniors now compared to like about thirty percent youth. So

(14:12):
it's it's getting up there and we're getting to be
more of an aging community that relates to a lot
of different things, one of which is wealth. Coral Springs
is a wonderful community. I think that both of you
agree that you don't want to go anywhere else No, No,
but I think secondly, look, I think South Florida real

(14:36):
estate is out of control. People can't move.

Speaker 2 (14:41):
Sure, absolutely, yeah, they can't afford insurance on a new house.

Speaker 3 (14:47):
And oh I'm sorry, Okay, No. The real issue is
that when you talk about people staying in Florida or
Carl Springs, they don't want to leave. And one of
the main reasons why they don't want to move elsewhere,

(15:09):
which has created a lot of difficulty with partners, is
the fact that they love the Senior Center. Because everything
that had been provided in the past was free. This
takes a great amount of stress of people that are

(15:30):
in a lower income bracket that cannot afford to go
to gym's and to pay those prices. And not everybody
has a Sneakers membership, so it's very, very difficult to
try to say to people go elsewhere.

Speaker 1 (15:50):
Exactly. So it's important that we address this issue here
so that we make sure that we take care of well,
what's going to rise from twenty five percent clearly to
a higher percentage as the few years go on, because
this situation is not going to be changing anytime soon.

Speaker 3 (16:10):
Now.

Speaker 2 (16:10):
Brobert Kennedy actually is closing schools because they are less
young people, not less.

Speaker 1 (16:19):
Student So yeah, well again there's a lot of different
you know, changes afoot, and but the real estate market
is certainly a big, big part of that. I guess look,
you know, I've appreciated this conversation so much. To kind
of close things out, Joy, let me ask you first,

(16:40):
what are what would you like to see in the
short term and in the long term for Coral Springs
In terms of the needs of seniors.

Speaker 3 (16:51):
I think the first important thing is for the powers
that be understand what they're dealing with. They have not
after many invitations, they have not come to see the
seniors in action, and as Christy was saying before, we
are not the same grandmotherly type that people conjure up

(17:17):
in their minds as far as senior activities are concerned,
I defy anyone to come to see exactly the extent
of their abilities. That would be number one. Number two
we have, as I mentioned before, we do not have
adequate space for the classes that we are proposing. It

(17:42):
would be great for them to open. Since we're not talking,
I mean, a quick fix would be to open other
facilities that have that space so that we could utilize
that for our purposes in the long run. In the future,
I would hope that the consideration would be given to
a newer facility to accommodate what we need.

Speaker 1 (18:08):
More than twenty eight parking spaces you mean, yeh yes,
and handicap spots, gotcha.

Speaker 2 (18:16):
And you know there's a way to maximize, but it
takes work. You need to figure it out. But there's
a way to maximize all the various spaces that maybe
would be available in the city, and they need management
to maximize that and use other classes. Things as simple
as fifty people sign up for one class thirty sign

(18:37):
up for the other one. Let's give the smaller room
to the class who as thirty people and the big
I mean, there's just very simple things. It's not rocket science,
well it's.

Speaker 1 (18:50):
Not, but it's it's something that it's simple and it
really affects so many people. And I can't think both
of you for bringing this issue to light. I know
you've been active, You've spoken in front of the Commission
as well, and I'm hoping that some of these issues

(19:11):
can be addressed in the near future. If both of
you would like to give your email addresses, if anyone
would like to contact you, please feel free.

Speaker 2 (19:22):
To do that. Okay, mine my email address would be C. J. D.
Noble d E n obl E at yahoo dot com.

Speaker 3 (19:36):
And mine would be my name, Joyce j O y
Ce w oo l at iCloud dot com.

Speaker 1 (19:49):
Excellent, all right, And if anyone, if any of you
would like to contact me, my email address is Jeffrey
dot Aedelman at ic loud dot com and I can
be reached on my cell phone nine five four four
seven eight one nine ninety seven. This program is set

(20:09):
up to have your voice heard so that you can
put out there the things that are important to you
in Coral Springs, and we can address them and talk
about them comfortably in a conversation just like this. Thank
you for tuning in, and Joy and Christianne, thanks again,

(20:31):
thank you again. You
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