Selectmen Will Hold Vote On New Senior Center Warrant Article

WILMINGTON, MA — The Wilmington Board of Selectmen will discuss and vote on a warrant article to build a new senior center building at their next meeting. At their Monday meeting, the town's Elderly Services Commission asked the board to sponsor an article, with a cost of $8.75 million. Chairman Greg Bendel said they could not vote on it without giving proper notice, but he said they would at their next meeting.

The next selectmen meeting is scheduled for Jan. 13. If the board votes to sponsor an article, it will go on the warrant for the May 4 town meeting. If the selectmen do not sponsor an article, residents will have until the first Friday of February, Feb. 7, to prepare one.

A new senior center is one of the pieces of the facilities master plan, which town committees began discussing in October. But the plan lists a variety of buildings in poor condition or in need of replacement or upgrades, including the Wildwood and Boutwell schools, and in need of major upgrades or replacement and the town hall. Committee members also highlighted the need for a North substation.

At that meeting, residents called for the committees to make the senior center a priority.

"We paid for so many things," said one senior resident urging the building of a new senior center. "It's our time. I don't care where you build it. Build it now!"

That call was again taken up at Monday's meeting, where residents in the public comment period backed up the Elderly Services Commissions request. Commission Chair John Wallace laid out the current Buzzell Senior Center's shortcomings, including its inadequate size, its lack of sprinklers, the possibility it has asbestos, and its "unusable downstairs." The building does not have dedicated administrative offices, private spaces for meetings or counselling, he noted, and there are no dedicated spaces for exercise or arts and crafts.

The town's senior population is projected to grow significantly over the coming years, to over 6,000, and the current senior center has less than 60 percent of the space that it needs, according to the facilities master plan. it sees over 28,000 visits per year.

The commission argued that the town has plenty of surplus money to spend on a new center, with $38 million between free cash and the capital stabilization fund. Selectmen Michael McCoy noted that the $23 million in free cash is much more than neighboring communities, which top out at less than half that.

The board, and Town Manager Jeffrey Hull, agreed that there is a need for a new senior center, but expressed some concern over cutting too deeply into the rainy day fund, and the lack of an identified location.

"There's no question a senior center is needed, but we need to be very deliberative about how it is done, when it is done, in the context of all these projects," Hull said.

Hull said that the economy will eventually go into recession, and the free cash could be a rainy day fund when revenues dry up.

"Other communities [during recessions] have had to cut staff," Hull said. "I want to avoid that outcome."

Selectman Jomarie O'Mahony noted that the senior center article could have a domino effect on other town building needs, if a particular location were claimed.

Bendel asked town officials to prepare a warrant article for the board to vote on by their next meeting.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.