Block Grant Helps Save the Historic Elfers School and Important Community Senior Services

Some of our readers have grown concerned about the status of the historic Elfers School located at 4136 Barker Drive in what used to be downtown Elfers, Florida.

Rest assured that the boarded windows, chain link fence and no trespassing signs are all part of a much larger project to save the old school house and important community senior services it houses.

Built in 1914 the historic Elfers School still serves its community with a purpose. However, that purpose-- home of Community Aging & Retirement Services, Inc., known to most as CARES-- is much different then its original use as a school.

CARES was incorporated March 5, 1973 as a charitable, not-for-profit organization to provide quality and caring services for the older population in west Pasco and their families, said Bill Aycrigg, president and chief executive officer of CARES.

Programs include adult day services, in-home services, care management, Medicare home health services, senior health clinics, and much more-- most programs directed towards low income and uninsured seniors 55 years and older.

In 1979, CARES found the old Elfers School suited their needs as a senior center and  began negotiations with the Pasco County School Board, which owned the old building as surplus property. Negotiations resulted in a long-term lease agreement between the school board, and CARES has occupied the historic building since.

Today, CARES has grown to over 170 employees and 300 volunteers who pride themselves on their values and commitment to the community’s older residents through advocacy, compassion, excellence, integrity, respect, and through their general services.

County building permit records show roof repairs were undertaken while under ownership of the district school board in 1986, 1997, and 1999, but these seem to be the only significant repairs made to the historic Elfers School, other than renovations made to the building in 1979 when CARES moved in.

Decay began to compromise the nearly 100-year-old building, and according to county records, a structural engineering study discovered stress was displacing the walls, which means each wall was beginning to separate out and away from the roof and floor joist.

And 26 years after moving into the old school, in 2005, CARES was faced with the possibilities of having to permanently vacate their home office and senior center. At the same time residents, were faced with losing another valuable historic building.

The owner of the property, Pasco County School Board, could not afford extensive repairs to the building, and neither could CARES.

As a result, the school board was left with very few choices-- demolish the old building or find a way to keep it under public ownership in an effort to restore the historic structure and keep the lease agreement with CARES.

This is when negotiations with Pasco County began, and a restoration plan was formulated.

On July 25, 2006 the Board of County Commissioners entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the School Board to accept conveyance of the property, subject to requirements that CARES continue use of the facilities as its Elfers Senior Center.

According to a 2007 letter to State Historic Preservation Officer Frederick Gaske, following acquisition County Commissioners allocated $1,337,930 of Community Development Block Grant funds to temporarily relocate CARES to offices near their Enrichment Center in Hudson, contract engineering/ design services for the historic building, and to provide for interior and exterior renovations.

This money not only helped to retain the important services that CARES provides to our community, but it also preserves the historic Elfers School house in the process-- a two-fold use of funding.

With modern steel frame windows, rotten ceiling joists, building foundations beginning to sink, and cracks forming in the brick and mortar, the project plan was immediately implemented for stabilization of the building at a total cost of $408,000-- this included new foundation supports beneath the sinking 73’ x 32’ main floor of the two-story building.

In keeping with the historic elegance of the building, the interior phase of the project, not yet started, will include restorations to the main entryway, open oak staircase rising to the second floor, the upstairs auditorium stage, and the old classrooms which will be used for meeting purposes and CARES activities.

According to county records, the interior phase also calls for the replacement of 23 “non-historic windows” with new historically replicated windows at a total cost of $119,240.

When completed, the historic Elfers School will once again be the center of attraction for the community and all to enjoy.

According to Aycrigg, a separate grant of $240,000 was obtained with support from U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis to replace the CARES annex building located next to the old school.

The entire project is planned for completion in 2012, ending another chapter in the rich history of the Elfers School and the CARES organization.

For more information about CARES services please visit their web site at www.caresfl.org