Three COA board members — Barbara King in green, Lily Kuzia in back and Shirley Therrien, right — explain why they disbanded.
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — News of the looming closure of the Senior Center last week has prompted a group of community members to mount a rescue.
Nearly two dozen people attended an emergency meeting organized by Lauren and Robert Norcross at the center on Thursday night to find ways to keep the 15-year-old building open and the Council on Aging functioning.
"We're not here, again, to take over and do anything," Robert Norcross said. "We're here to try to help save the building and try and see if there's interest. ... Right now you guys cannot go on any longer, we need to get younger people involved, number one, in order to pass it on and keep going."
The Council on Aging voted at the beginning of the month to disband and gave the town 30 days notice that the building would close.
Vice Chairwoman Shirley Therrien said the board members were just tired — their numbers had dropped from 14 to five over the years as people moved, dropped off or died. Those left are getting up in years, with some in their 90s, and the majority have been involved in the COA for upwards of 20 years.
"This has all been on my shoulders," Therrien said, later adding, "nobody wants to replace us and we want out of here."
The group spent about an hour discussing possible solutions and determined that the first step would be to get a new board in place. The COA should have a minimum of seven board members, especially to provide enough volunteers to operate the building the three days it should be open to seniors.
"Honestly, the board is what runs this building," said director Leah Sherman. "They are the heart and soul of the building. They are the ones who are here the three days a week I am not here. I'm here to maintain the building, handle the unmet needs, grants and help out with anything that they need. You know, I only get paid for five hours a week."
Therrien said the biggest day is Tuesday when the COA runs bingo. That brings in extra revenue for operations and draws a crowd from outside Clarksburg. But Mondays and Thursdays can see minimal traffic and if no one shows up they leave. A regular breakfast stopped being served because not enough people were coming to eat.
Lily Kuzia, longtime former chairman of the COA, said the small volunteer group is now responsible for much of the custodial work with a cleaning service coming in once a month.
"I guess with the few people that are here tonight, one thing we have to decide, do we all think this is worth keeping open," said Norcross. "And if we do, then it's always a commitment being on boards. It takes time, monthly meetings, making decisions. Sometimes you got to be here volunteering to fix things."
One promising suggestion was turning the Senior Center into a community center the COA could operate in to attract more involvement from citizens. Norcross, 67, said he and his wife are still very active and traveling and thought others his age were busy as well.
"It says 'senior center' and I'm in denial and I keep driving," he joked, but added he always assumed some day he'd go there — maybe 10 years down the road.
Several others in the group thought adding activities like paddle ball, corn hole or cards might appeal to a younger crowd of people in their 60s. A community center would also open up the use of the building for more activities across generations while maintaining its use as the town's emergency shelter and polling station.
Lauren Norcross had made phone calls to the state and done some research on how the COA could move forward in terms of board reorganization, the annual state grant, and cooperation with a community center.
The other option is to continue with the center's closure and lease it out. Selectman Jeffrey Levanos said the town had been approached by a potential tenant.
"This tenant is going to pay us roughly $2,000 a month," he said. And while he'd rather see a community center that could be also rented for local use, Levanos said he had spoken to the school principal about using Clarksburg School for seniors to hold bingo or have breakfasts if needed.
That prompted some accusations that the town was trying to take the center away to use as a revenue generator. Levanos said the town could use money for infrastructure but that the Select Board had been approached after the word got out about the center closing. Officials hadn't solicited tenants, he said.
Sherman agreed with Levanos that the building should be kept in use if the Senior Center closed.
"You don't want the building going to waste," she said. "If no one is in the building, you know, you're going to have leaks, you're going to have things go wrong. ...
"They decided that they don't want to do this anymore. We do want the Senior Center, we want people to step up, we absolutely want to keep everything ... but it's gotta be something whether it's a community center or whether it's rented out to somebody."
Therrien said the COA board had given the 30-day notification verbally to Select Board Chairman Ronald Boucher. Since it was not in writing, perhaps the board could give an extension to allow a new Council on Aging board to be established, she said.
The group discussed the possibility of a six-month extension to work things out. The priority is getting a new board in place, Norcross said, and a meeting was set for Thursday, July 25, at 10 a.m. to vote in new board members.
Several people at the meeting signed up; anyone interested can attend the meeting next week or contact Therrien. Board members must be residents of Clarksburg and at least 60 years old.
"Everybody I talked to, I said pray for a little miracle," said Therrien. "Here it is."
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Toy Library Installed at Onota Lake
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Feel free to use or leave a toy at Onota Lake's newest infrastructure meant to foster community and benefit kids.
Burbank Park now has a toy library thanks to Wahconah Regional High School senior Alexandra Bills. Located along the wall at the beach area, the green and blue structure features two shelves with sand toys that can be used to enhance children's visits.
The Parks Commission supported Bills' proposal in February as part of her National Honors Society individual service project and it was installed this month. Measuring about 4 feet wide and 5.8 feet tall, it was built by the student and her father with donated materials from a local lumber company.
Friends and family members provided toys to fill the library such as pails, shovels, Frisbees, and trucks.
"I wanted to create a toy library like the other examples in Berkshire County from the sled library to the book libraries," she told the commission in February.
"But I wanted to make it toys for Onota Lake because a lot of kids forget their toys or some kids can't afford toys."
Bills lives nearby and will check on the library weekly — if not daily — to ensure the operation is running smoothly. A sign reading "Borrow-Play-Return" asks community members to clean up after themselves after using the toys.
It was built to accommodate children's heights and will be stored during the winter season.
Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more
On Saturday afternoon at Lowell’s Tsongas Center, the Hurricanes will take aim at Division 5 State Championships in girls and boys basketball. click for more
Pittsfield High's Matt Dupuis and Lee's Bella Kotek Sunday completed a Berkshire County sweep at the State Bowling Championships at Bowlero.
click for more
Emily Holian’s strike to open the 10th frame of the Wildcats’ second game against Worcester Tech all but assured Lee a team title at Bowlero Chicopee.
click for more
Hoosac struggled to get into rhythm on the offensive end until Joey McGovern got the 3-ball working. McGovern finished the game with 21 points including a triple in the fourth quarter that cemented him in the record books. It took him nearly the whole game but he was able to join the 1,000-point... click for more
Pittsfield High's Eliza Mullen won state title and in the giant slalom and slalom, winning the former discipline by 1.6 seconds and the latter by nearly 2.7 seconds.
click for more