February 15, 2023 By Carol Britton Meyer
While some older residents would like to see an expanded and renovated Senior Center at its current location, others favor exploring potential alternative locations.
Along those lines, the Select Board approved last night broadening the purpose of the 2020 Town Meeting appropriation of $525,000 initially earmarked for preliminary design work to expand and renovate the current Senior Center and a related feasibility study to include possible consideration of potential alternative sites for new construction upon the recommendation of Town Administrator Tom Mayo. Town Meeting has the final say.
“Some members of the senior community have voiced the opinion that an expansion and rebuild of the current Senior Center is not necessarily the most appropriate [path to take]. Others think it would be ok,” Mayo told the board. “It’s as yet unknown as to how many locations will be explored, how far we would go with that, and how we would determine which location [would be best]. With this money freed up, we could identify other appropriate locations.”
If a second site is identified as more feasible and Town Meeting gives a nod of approval, further appropriations would be needed to bring the project to completion.
Senior Center Building Committee Chair Tom Carey said its members have been hard at work discussing various options. “We haven’t been limiting our work to a specific space in Town Hall but developing a program of what the needs are. The goal is to cast the net widely to determine what is in the best interests of our seniors in the future. I wholeheartedly support this warrant article.”
Carey went on to say that the current 5,000-square-foot space is “utterly inadequate. If we had 10,000 or 15,000-square feet for seniors to use for the next decade, that could maybe be accomplished at a price that’s good for everybody.”
If the article passes at Town Meeting, he said, the Building Committee will continue its work and ultimately make a recommendation as to what it believes would be the best course of action.
Mayo emphasized that “this article isn’t asking for new money, it’s giving us the open door to spend the existing appropriation in a little different way.”
Select Board Chair William Ramsey said the goal is “for this to come out right. I think it will be good to look at different locations. There aren’t a lot of them [to consider], but we want the best Senior Center possible for our senior community. [So] we’re starting out with what our seniors want and need.”
Select Board member Liz Klein said while she would like to see the project completed as soon as possible, “We want to get it right.”