SUNDERLAND — The South County Senior Center Board of Oversight voted last week to support a feasibility study to determine the Deerfield Town Hall’s suitability as a potential new home for the South County Senior Center.
The study would specifically analyze the suitability of the existing building with renovations. It would not consider tearing down the 8 Conway St. building and constructing a new Senior Center from scratch.
The vote followed the Finance Committee’s decision to recommend the feasibility study to the Board of Oversight at the last joint meeting with the Select Board on Aug. 18. Finance Committee Chair Julie Chalfant told the Board of Oversight on Tuesday that the committee pursued this recommendation due to the one-story layout of the 8 Conway St. property and plans for the Town Hall to move to the 1888 Building after it is renovated.
“I feel strongly for the seniors. They feel last,” said South County Senior Center Director Jennifer Ferrara. “If it’s not good enough for Deerfield Town Hall, why is it good enough for the seniors?”
“That comment really bugs me,” Chalfant replied, adding that the municipal offices are moving to the 1888 Building “not because the [Town Hall] isn’t good enough for them,” but due to other factors like it being multiple stories.
The Senior Center currently rents an approximately 1,800-square-foot building at 22 Amherst Road in Sunderland, but has outgrown the space as membership has surged in the last five years, bringing a need for larger programs.
Board of Oversight Chair Joyce Palmer-Fortune said she is “not opposed to getting more information.” But with community forums and Special Town Meetings for Deerfield, Whately and Sunderland approaching in October and early November, Palmer-Fortune stressed the need for speed with the studies.
“We’ve got to step on it and get the information,” she said.
During its meeting on Wednesday, the Deerfield Selectboard voted to pursue the feasibility study of Deerfield Town Hall with edmSTUDIO. According to Selectboard Chair Trevor McDaniel, edmSTUDIO provided a $15,000 estimate for the study. Deerfield Town Administrator Christopher Dunne said the Finance Committee will likely discuss the funding source at its next meeting on Sept. 22, but he suggested that the money will likely come from the $34,000 that was already appropriated for assessing Senior Center needs and feasibility studies a few years ago. The Selectboard plans to solidify the funding plan with the Finance Committee and Capital Improvements Plan Committee.
The Board of Oversight will hold three community forums in October to update the public on the search for a new home for the South County Senior Center.
The first community forum will take place on Friday, Oct. 10, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Whately Town Hall, 194 Chestnut Plain Road. On Wednesday, Oct. 15, the board will hold a second community forum from 1 to 3 p.m. at the First Congregational Church in Sunderland. To accommodate for different schedules, the final community forum will start at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16, in the Frontier Regional School auditorium.
The forums will focus on the 11,000-square-foot office building at 112 Amherst Road in Sunderland, the subject of edmSTUDIO’s latest feasibility study for the Senior Center. The Board of Oversight hopes to inform attendees of the feasibility study’s results and hear their preferences and opinions on a new South County Senior Center location.
McDaniel said the Board of Oversight may not have a concrete answer regarding the Senior Center’s new home at the community forums, but the board will “talk about the needs of the seniors, keep them centered,” and “hear from the public about what they need and what they would like” to continue the conversation.
