Groups Displaced at Hamilton Need New Space

About a dozen groups are scrambling to find new meeting places now that the building in Hamilton is no longer available to them.

The Marin Power Squadron, which since 1959 hosted classes in seamanship, navigation and related subjects, suffered from such a severe drop in membership that it decided against renewing its lease, which was up in November.  requested in writing that the adjacent Power Squadron building be used for additional artist studios to encourage growth in cultural arts in Novato. In July, the Novato City Council voted to do just that.

The structure, part of the headquarters of the former Hamilton Air Force Base, has been owned by the city since 2000 when the base was being transitioned from military use. Today the 2 1/2 acre group of buildings, known as the Building 500 complex, is home to the  and the Marin MOCA.

We'll go through the list here of now-homeless groups with a mission that perhaps another Patch reader or property owner can help out. Have an idea? Add a comment below this story.

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Samantha Gjoka of Double Eagle Fitness is looking for another location in the Hamilton area, especially a space she and her husband, Beqir, can share with a non-fitness entity. Her business only requires indoor space during inclement weather, to meet new clients, and teach self-defense and personal safety. They had also used the space at Marin Power Squadron to store a small amount of equipment.  

The husband-wife team trains clients from 6-9 a.m. and 4:30-8:30 p.m.

"We need to stay in the Hamilton/Ignacio area and welcome contact from anyone with a small space to share — 500 to 700 square feet,” Samantha Gjoka said.

* Barbara Bochner, president of the Blue Star Moms of Marin, expressed her appreciation for the use of the space up to this point. She said she hopes another space may become available where they can store goods until they are about ready to ship overseas.

Gloria Dunn of the Rotary Club of Novato said that the club also helps the Blue Star Moms pack boxes for servicemen overseas. The boxes contain all kinds of items; from socks and caps to candy and magazines, toothbrushes and soup. Bochner said her organization hopes to find a place that allows them to collect and store items.

They need at least 20 feet by 20 feet of rodent proof/food safe storage plus an indoor, lighted area the size of a medium-sized classroom for packing and meetings. "We would prefer to be in the Novato area if possible,” she said. 

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David Stompe’s  had to be postponed but he intends to still have the event. If anyone would like to offer use of his or her space for this event, contact him at dstompe@farmersagent.com or at 415-878-1394. 

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Other groups impacted by the decision include the , an English as a Second Language class, four regular meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, Respecting Our Elders and the square dancers. Still some other groups said to be using the space for periodic meetings include a Business Networking International group, Marin Emergency Medical Services Agency and a local office of the Obama campaign. 

was interested in renting the facility and folks there said they feel they didn’t get a shot at it. They also have said that they wouldn’t have needed the $100,000 in upgrades that the artists require to move into the space. 

Madeline Kellner, who cast one of the Novato City Council dissenting votes over the matter, said she knows there is a need for meeting space for nonprofits.

"If the church had taken over the space and could manage reasonable rents for that purpose, that would have been great," she said. "I don't know whether that would have worked out, but I would have liked us to pursue that a bit more. The artists, I understand, have a need for space, but there are probably more appropriate sites for that similar to spaces I have seen in downtown Oakland off of Grand Avenue.”

The council had only been informed of Unity in Marin’s interest in the space the night of the vote. 

An editorial published on Aug. 6 in the Marin Independent Journal, questioned whether the Novato City Council moved too quickly in granting the space to the . Certainly, a number of groups have been impacted by the decision.