January 20, 2023 By Carol Britton Meyer
Voters at the Annual Town Meeting in April will decide whether to broaden 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 a potential alternative site for new construction, according to Town Administrator Tom Mayo.
If this warrant article is approved and a second site is identified as the most feasible, for a new Senior Center, “we’d socialize that location with the public and then go back to Town Meeting to request an appropriation for permitting and construction document costs and then back to Town Meeting a third time to request construction funding.”
The initial plan was to use the current Central Street site and expand into what is now the regional dispatch center space once the new public safety facility is up and running.
Chair William Ramsey noted, however, that while some seniors prefer the central location of Town Hall, which has parking limitations, others want to consider alternatives.
“We want to build the best Senior Center we possible can at the best location and in the best timeframe now that the new public safety facility and Foster School have been approved,” he said. “Our seniors have been waiting. There aren’t a lot of options, but there are some.” More information will be available at a later date.
If the April 2023 warrant article passes, the prior appropriation could be expended by the Select Board for expenses related to feasibility studies for the current and a potential alternative site through the issuance of bid documents “for a Senior Center to be located in any public building owned by the Town of Hingham.”