Easthampton Mayor Salem Derby
Reminder Publishing file photo
EASTHAMPTON — Easthampton is currently in need of a new senior center, and while no plan for one is set in stone, proposals are currently being discussed.
Mayor Salem Derby has publicly shared what he is calling a “draft” feasibility study that proposes a shared complex building on Park Street that includes a new senior center, Parks and Recreation Department offices, an equipment storage garage and a shared gymnasium space.
The proposed “Park Street Campus” facility was born from an effort to respond directly to the city’s more pressing municipal space needs, according to the study. Derby told Reminder Publishing that he’s looking to create a shared space that meets the facility needs of both the Council on Aging and Parks and Recreation Department.
More specifically, the “draft concept” study released by Derby details a 42,000- to 48,000-square-foot facility, some pros and cons of the proposal, and comparisons to similar complexes around the region and state. The estimated cost of the proposed project ranges from $22 million to $34 million, with an estimated monthly tax increase of $27-$36 a month for the average Easthampton household. The estimated timeline of the project is four and a half to five years.
“As I looked at these projects and, thinking about impact to the community, I thought, if we could find a way to combine these two projects, where we can give the Senior Center a great new state-of-the-art facility, and we could address some of the needs that are pretty prevalent in the community around recreation. When Pepin closed, we lost a gym, and so youth basketball has been struggling to find space. It’s really hard for them to have a recreation program without a gym,” said Derby. “There’s always constraints on gyms in communities like ours, and there’s always a need. We live in New England, so having a place where you can go indoors during the winter to play pickleball, to play basketball, to play volleyball, to do indoor recreation activities, that’s kind of a need.”
The study details a connected two-way building for the two city groups, a central lobby, a cost-effective parking field, the equipment garage and a trail link to Nonotuck Park. Derby said the idea is for the Senior Center and Parks & Recreation to share the recreation complex space, adding that it would provide a place for seniors to get active during the day and allow for city-wide recreation activities in the evenings and weekends.
Derby said that while he was happy to have shared this information publicly at the Senior Center Building Committee’s March 30 meeting, he is not anticipating pursuing the draft proposal any time soon based on the city’s current financial outlook. Derby explained that, like many communities in the area, Easthampton is facing a difficult financial situation in the upcoming budgeting process. He added that it was unclear if an override or a debt exclusion is what the public wants at this time.
“I need to be as fiscally responsible as possible and show the community, I’m not trying to throw money away while I’m asking people to increase their taxes — even though I don’t think that a project like this is throwing it away, some people may think it’s extravagant,” said Derby. “I think probably with the timing on it, the best timing is to wait probably until like [20]‘29, ‘30, when the debt exclusion of the [Easthampton] High School ends, so that might be a good time to step in and say, ‘hey, is this something the community wants?’ It gives us time to evaluate the validity of having a combined campus and for people to mull it over and weigh the options.”
The draft idea stemmed from the city’s ongoing work with the Senior Center Building Committee, which was formed last March following the formation of an Ad Hoc Senior Building Committee in 2023.
In February, the committee designated a city-owned, wooded parcel of land on Park Street near Mountain View School as its top choice for a new senior center during a February meeting. The Ad Hoc group produced a 33-page report that was largely referenced by the current Building Committee during the decision-making process.
Council on Aging director and member of the Senior Center Building Committee, Cynthia Tarail, told Reminder Publishing that the Building Committee was set to request funding for a feasibility study for a standalone senior center on the Park Street property, until the mayor shared his financial outlook. Although no senior center plan is set in stone yet, Tarail said Derby has been very cooperative during this effort.
“That was a completely new idea of the mayor’s that did not come from the departments of the Council on Aging, or the Parks and Rec. Department, or the Council on Aging Board. It was really driven by the mayor,” said Tarail. “And concurrently, the site that is city-owned property at Park Street, the Building Committee took a vote, that out of all the city-owned properties that we could have access to, that was the best choice of all the city-owned properties in Easthampton. That was happening concurrently while the mayor was chewing on this idea.”
Tarail said the community can take the time to sort through what options work best for all parties while the city deals with its current budget situation.
“It sounds as though we can continue talking about, does the city of Easthampton want or need a combined facility or a standalone senior center. But money toward developing that is not forthcoming any time soon,” said Tarail.
In the meantime, Derby hopes the draft concept for a community campus can be good information to reference moving forward.
“The reason I decided to share my proposal was because I felt like a standalone senior center wouldn’t necessarily have a really great chance of passing. I was thinking, if we could broaden the appeal and get more people invested, that’s going to be a win if we’re trying to pass it,” added Derby. “We’re going to step back, take some time and do it right.”
Tarail said when she became director of the Council on Aging in 2021, she inherited the mission of moving the Senior Center into a more modern facility. She said discussions about the best path forward will continue.
“I’m speculating that there won’t be any more new conversation about the new senior center given the budget situation until that moves forward to whatever steps it’s going to move forward,” said Tarail. “However, in terms of the people who are responsible to think about the needs of older adults, which would be the Council on Aging department and board, and the people responsible for thinking about recreation needs, which is the Parks commission and department, we are going to continue speaking to each other, both as internal city employee departments, in terms of possibly meeting together and talking about these issues, because it takes a long time to do any kind of assessment.”
The existing Senior Center location at 19 Union St., which was a post office before, has long been criticized due to its age and lack of space. Tarail said she, her team and the members of the Senior Center are grateful for the space they do have compared to what some other communities are left with, but there is still very much a need for a new location.
Tarail said she hears issues from seniors about the lack of parking on the site and the lack of accessibility for those with limited mobility. There is also a lack of space, heating and no air conditioning in the downstairs classroom.
“Then of course, the maintenance and repair and renovation issues that we, the city, keep up with as best we can, but there are major issues here that would cost the city so much money to fix that it doesn’t make sense if you’re going to build a new center,” said Tarail. “But at the same time, if we’re going to be here for say another 10 years, you’re talking lead paint, inefficiencies around utilities, leaks, moisture, the lack of heating and cooling downstairs. There’s just so many things about the building itself that we can deal with on a day-to-day basis, but like so many old buildings in Massachusetts, if you defer certain kinds of more intensive repairs, replacements, renovations, then it’s going to catch up with you.”
