Panel Forms To Focus

Seniors’ Vision For Rec Center

By Kendra Bobowick

A medical exam room, a conference room, kitchen, arts and crafts room, ballroom, and more are part of the wish list Senior Center Director Marilyn Place fashioned after the “Taj Mahal” of centers in Shelton.

Do seniors want these things? They now have a collective voice and are prepared to come up with answers. This week with a show of hands and a few nods of agreement to add their names to a list, a Senior Action Committee took shape.

“We need 12 seniors,” Ms Place told the more than 40 people gathered and filling every seat in the center Monday. The start-up committee should focus the seniors’ vision for what their community wants in a center that has found at least design funds through Newtown’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

Ms Place raised her voice to cut across the conversation of the more than 40 people to say, “Your opinion counts. I want this group to be liaison to the seniors in town.” Noting that not everyone is able to get out at night or make meetings where they would hear and possibly contribute to discussion about a senior center’s design, for one, Ms Place sought volunteers for the Senior Action Committee from Walnut Tree Hill Village, Nunnawauk Meadows, Liberty at Newtown, and the those living in town. “I think it’s one way to build a stronger senior community,” she said.

Regarding research on the proposed senior center designs, she said, “I want this group to go to Shelton, Oxford, Monroe, and come back and talk about that.” Her intention? The group representing the seniors would have an idea of what other towns’ center had to offer, and help with their recommendations as recreation/community center plans form. “This way, when the [Commission on Aging] sits with the architects we can say what we like and dislike.” Underlining her point, she said, “We need to go to the architect and represent you, and know what you want for sure.” For the last year, and more often as the CIP process continued, recreation commission Chairman Ed Marks has stressed that he wants seniors “at the table” as plans move ahead.

In past weeks the Commission on Aging recommended that seniors work with the Parks and Recreation Department to put to use funds to design a recreation/community center as a duplex — the seniors occupying one half and putting themselves in proximity to the privately funded Newtown Youth Academy, offering access to a gymnasium and walking track. Seniors are not tied to future millions of CIP funds for construction, which will be a decision they must make in future rounds of CIP requests.

Hanging on to a longtime concern, seniors worried that once they got into a building, they would be pushed aside by recreation programming. Not true, stressed Ms Place. “This is going to be your building,” she answered. She directed seniors to think about their needs, think about the programs they might want, think about parking. Are ten handicap spaces enough? 20? These are the details seniors need to decide.

Contact the Senior Center to learn more or fill one of the three remaining openings for the Senior Action Committee at 270-4310. The group is still forming and will likely meet once each month.

“We’ve got a good start right now,” Ms Place said. As the meeting adjourned, resident Pat Gauvaine glanced at a list of names for those interested in joining the new senior committee.

She said, “This is good to see everybody free to participate,” adding that she thought something good could come out of it.