SOUTH HADLEY — A new senior center will soon be a reality in South Hadley after residents at this week’s Town Meeting approved funding the $9.8 million project.
The new 18,500-square-foot senior center would be built where the current senior center is located on Dayton St. Applause followed the announcement that the article had passed by at least a two-thirds majority, although some residents expressed concerns about the project’s funding amid current shortages in the school’s budget.
Town Administrator Michael Sullivan responded that the senior center funding has been in the works for years and built into existing budgets throughout this process.
The current senior center was built in 1924 and at one time served as an elementary school. Senior Center officials have pointed out its deficiencies in the past: it’s not as accessible to the handicapped as it could be, there are fire safety and security concerns, it has poor ventilation, lacks storage space, and it’s too small.
The Gazette previously reported that the new design features a curbless driveway out front, wider hallways, handicapped accessible bathrooms, and safety call buttons in various places around the building. Almost every room would be multipurpose, serving as spaces for crafts, support groups, meals, movies and games.
In other business at Wednesday’s annual and special Town Meeting, voters approved 30 other articles — out of 35 presented — including the town’s fiscal 2020 budget.
Voters passed all eight articles on the special Town Meeting warrant, and passed 23 out of 28 articles on the annual Town Meeting warrant. Of the remaining five articles, two were defeated, two were sent back to the Planning Board and one was withdrawn.
The town’s $46.5 million budget includes significant cuts to the school district’s budget. At a School Committee meeting in March, Sullivan said that while the school district could arguably use between $900,000 and $1.2 million in funding, the town does not have the financial resources to offer the district more than $275,000.
Superintendent Nicholas Young said that the school district is “cognizant of the fact that things are getting tighter, more challenging.”
“We need the help of this community in stronger ways in the coming years … We really need to sort of sound the alarm about the kinds of resources we’re going to need in the next 12 months,” he added.
The district is engaging in “an ongoing conversation with our unions about next possible options,” Young said, which may include teacher layoffs, slightly increased class sizes and cutting back on some facilities.
Two other articles passed include stormwater management and zoning bylaws amendments intended to protect the Dry Brook Public Water Supply Well and further regulate major earth excavation activities. The Dry Brook Hill area has been a subject of conversation in town since a gravel and sand mining operation sought to expand operations in the area in January. The company operating the gravel pit withdrew its application to expand operations, but has since proposed a residential development in the area.
Of the two articles that failed, one concerned a bylaw amendment that placed greater restrictions on feeding wild animals. Some voters commented that the amendment, which was adapted from a West Springfield bylaw, was too broad. Another proposed a zoning map amendment on Granby Road. It was defeated at the Planning Board’s recommendation.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.