Fiedler leads effort to help seniors Fiedler leads effort to help seniors (March 19, 2004)

by Jeb Bing

P leasanton Gardens' administrator Bruce Fiedler has just been given Rotary's distinguished Paul Harris award for meritorious community service, an honor named for the 1905 founder of Rotary International. It came with the Rotary North Club's contribution of $1,000 in Fiedler's name as part of the organization's program to eradicate the last vestiges of polio in third world countries like Nigeria.

The award is well-deserved. Fiedler, whose career has been focused on helping others, came to Pleasanton 19 years ago to manage Pleasanton Gardens, a 40-unit facility for low-income seniors. Opened in 1969, the project was the result of efforts by four church congregations to provide housing for those 62 and older who found themselves with minimum means of support. Financed privately and with help from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Pleasanton Gardens is believed to have been the first HUD-approved senior housing project built outside a major metropolitan area.

Fiedler brought both to Pleasanton Gardens and the Tri-Valley years of teaching and social work that started after he received an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and a master's in 1975 from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, along with a lifetime California teaching credential. For a time, he taught middle school and high school, including three years in Edmonton, Alberta, where he also ran the local hockey arena. Back in the U.S., and married to Leilani Siegfried, he held management positions and led startup efforts for social service agencies that served seniors, youths and people with disabilities until he was tapped for the Pleasanton Gardens job.

Since then, Fiedler has been a dedicated and leading advocate for senior housing and services. He also served on the Pleasanton Human Services and the Housing Authority commissions and on the WHEELS bus transportation committee for accessibility. In fact, he sees accessibility as a major problem facing the elderly, especially those who no longer drive. Of the 47 residents at Pleasanton Gardens, many are in their 80s, 90s and even older. Last Saturday, Florence Broadhurst, who moved into Pleasanton Gardens 20 years ago, celebrated her 102nd birthday (See story in Arts & Entertainment.) Fiedler praises WHEELS and Pleasanton's Dial-A-Ride services, but points out that these generally have less frequent or no service after sundown and on weekends. Riders to Hacienda Crossings to the movie theaters or to medical appointments in San Ramon have to transfer, which can be a challenge for those with limited vision or walking disabilities. That could change. Fiedler has successfully lobbied the city councils in Pleasanton and Dublin to require developers of senior housing projects planned on the Busch property and at Fairview Ranch on Dublin Boulevard east of Tassajara to budget for vans and drivers' salaries as part of their approval agreements.

Fiedler is also a member of the newly formed Pleasanton task force on senior housing, which is looking at ways to redevelop both Pleasanton Gardens and the city-owned Kottinger Place senior facility across the street. A new, possibly combined operation would add more apartments, including air conditioning, which was never considered 37 years ago when Pleasanton Gardens was planned. With 27 applicants on Fiedler's waiting list now, and only two units becoming available in all of last year, he's pushing hard for more affordable senior housing throughout the Tri-Valley so that those who need it can continue living close to their children and the friends and services they've come to enjoy.

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