Mayor Defends His Alternate Senior Center Idea [With Poll]

The mayor defended his choice to seek an alternate plan for a new senior center Wednesday as a fiscally responsible move for taxpayers who will soon consider a project whose costs he feels have ballooned out of control.

After members Tuesday at reports he is considering a new location for the long-awaited senior center, Mayor Dan Drew said by having an architect conduct a preliminary review, he is acting on the taxpayers' behalf.

Since the senior-community center project began, he’s seen the original $1.6 million price tag projection skyrocket as high as $4.5 million, according to Drew.

"It's perfectly reasonable, especially given the fact that the project has exploded in cost. We have a responsibility to examine our options, to make sure this investment is fiscally sound," Drew said.

The city purchased the former on Durant Terrace, known as Eckersley Hall, for $800,000, with the intention of renovating it for a new senior-community center. Chairman Ed Dypa told the committee members Tuesday that he felt "blindsided" that plans may now change.

“Absolutely no decision has been made,” Drew said. “That somehow it’s an underhanded move is absolutely perplexing to me. There is nothing underhanded going on here at all.”

The mayor said he feels beholden to the taxpayers. “We have to come up with some explanation why we promised $1.6 million and it’s now a $4 million project. And that’s on top of the cost of the [Eckersley Hall] building, which was nearly $1 million.”

The mayor said a preliminary concept is nowhere near a full architectural rendering. “A conceptual plan is different than a full schematic,” Drew said. “We’re just trying to get a little more information.”

As for expanding City Hall, Drew said, “It’s an absolute fact that City Hall needs a lot of work. But it is feasible that for the same amount [as the senior-community center project], we can incorporate a new senior center into the building.”

His only intention is to allow citizens to make a more informed decision, Drew said.

“I’ve already authorized the Council to sign off on some requirements [for the Eckersley Hall Building Committee] so they can complete their due diligence and keep going. There’s no way I’m going to scrap or stop the Eckersley Hall Committee. There’s been no move to disband the project.”

On May 1 at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, the Eckersley Hall Building Committee will present a workshop for senior citizens and residents on the new senior-community center concept ahead of the September referendum.

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