SOUTH HADLEY— Residents are encouraged to attend a forum Thursday to discus plans for a new senior center.
A rough draft of plans to replace the South Hadley Senior Center will be presented and discussed at the forum, which be at 6 p.m at the center’s current location at 45 Dayton St.
Leslie Hennessey, director of the town’s Council on Aging, will host the public discussion and collect feedback on how to best accommodate the town’s growing senior population.
“We are hoping people will come out and voice their opinions on the plans so they can tell us what they like about it, what they don’t like and what’s missing,” said Linda Young, a moderator with the group putting on the event, Know Your Town.
Topics to be discussed include whether the center will seek a new location or build on the existing site, the specific needs of the community and the financial possibilities of the project.
“One of the questions we need to be asking is if we are building it on the current location, where are we going to go for the two years it takes us to get a new one?” Young said.
One possibility for the center is to use a field behind its current building, which would provide room to build and space for parking. However, this would require the town’s Select Board to give up land under the Recreation Department’s control.
Young stressed the importance of including younger adults in the planning process, as they will be the ones using the center for years to come. The current facility is too small, she says, and parking is already an issue, which will have to be addressed in the new plans.
Sarah Robertson can be reached at srobertson@gazettenet.com