Ellington Seniors One Step Closer to Getting New Home

At the meeting on Monday, the board approved $15,000 in startup funds for the Senior Center Facility Study in town to look into a new senior center.

The money was first requested at a meeting, but it was suggested that it be brought before the board as a special appropriation. The Board of Finance must now approve the funds before they can be released.

First Selectmen Maurice Blanchette said that at some point in the process an architectural firm would be hired to draw scenarios and to refine what the new center might look like. He said that while they’re doing that, they’re also deciding how big it’s going to be and the kinds of things the facilty will hold.

This money is seed money and the group will be responsible for finding more money on its own.

“Basically the biggest challenge will be finding the money – not here in town, finding grants that they can apply to this – because without that, it’s not going to fly until they get to that point,” Blanchette said. “Some towns have been very lucky in getting a good pile of money for a senior center, but the state is not as generous as it used to be and the feds are a lot less generous than they used to be. Even though this is considered one of those types of applications where the feds like to put money into this thing and the state does too normally, there are so many competing things out there that are very critical at the state level.”

Blanchette said that when he took office he told everyone, including the seniors in town, that now was not the time to start anything new, but was a time to plan. He said that now is a time of maintaining and repairing what the town already has. Because of that, there was some concern over giving out this money.

“I don’t think anyone didn’t want them to get to this point, but I think there’s great reservation about the money itself,” he said. “They’re going to have to scour the bushes and look under every barrel where they can find funds.”

The current has been criticized for being too small for the more than 3,000 seniors in town. At only approximately 3,300 square feet, and not even owned by the town, the senior center has no recreational room and only one computer. It costs $3,000 a month to rent the space. 

The board was told that there are several sites that are being looked at – some are empty lots where a building would have to be built and others are preexisting buildings.

The meeting room was full of passionate seniors and supporters who are looking for a new place to call their own.

With the board approving this money, they are one step closer to making that dream a reality.