The series of forums hosted by the Community Center Commission continues to bring suggestions regarding the use of the $15 million gift from GE to the town. A recent survey also solicited public opinion. Before they make any recommendations, commission members are “listening,” according to Commissioner Brian Leidlein. Who they hear may influence the future of this center and determine if it is a facility that unites or divides the town.

The money has stipulations, according to the commission. “GE has donated $10 million to Newtown as a result of the 12/14 tragedy (plus a $1 million annual grant over five years) to create a facility that acts as an anchor for the people of Newtown to come together — a “hub,” the survey noted. “The money must be used to create a location that does not exist today, cannot duplicate existing programs or services, and serves the needs of the entire community as best as possible.”

Proposals for an ice hockey rink, a swimming pool, and a senior center are three concepts that arise at these forums repeatedly, as does space for the arts. However, what best serves the needs of the whole population? What can be offered that encourages socialization and a sense of community?

Far from Newtown, the small town of Southwest Harbor, Maine, has a space known as a community center. The volunteer-staffed Common Good Soup Kitchen Community provides a place for all residents — as well as summer visitors — to come together for food, fun, and educational opportunities. All summer, the kitchen turns out popovers and oatmeal each morning, requesting only that diners donate what they can for the breakfast. The revenue is used to fund the soup kitchen during winter months, when the resident population regularly experiences an economic downturn. The space (certainly far from a $10 million structure) is also available for birthdays and celebrations, as well as educational cooking classes and fundraisers. On cold winter nights, music and other events there are a social outlet for all residents. It generates revenue, but not in a way that inhibits the ultimate purpose of the common good: creating community.

This is not to say that Newtown should create a soup kitchen. But our town is made up of a diverse economic population. When considering a community center, the commission should take into consideration the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) residents of Newtown (a United Way term for the working poor) who may not have the luxuries many of their neighbors enjoy. They may also feel they have neither the connections nor the influence to have a say on the matter. A community center must be a place where all are welcome, and offer activities attractive and useful to the entire population, as well as the means to enjoy those activities.

What does all of Newtown require in a community center? Listening to the same special interest groups time and again will not provide the commission with a complete answer. The commission may have to go one step further. Go out into the community and find the people who cannot attend community forums and fill out surveys, or are uncomfortable doing so. Take the extra effort to listen to the less vocal members of the community and add their views to the discussions and deliberations.

A center that attracts all of Newtown can be the “hub” that turns the wheel of community, and one that can make Newtown truly a better place to live.