HAMPDEN — During the July 29 Board of Selectmen meeting, the Senior Center Building Committee confirmed with the board that a reconsideration vote for the expansion of the Hampden Senior Center would take place at the upcoming fall Town Meeting.
Residents previously voted against the original $6.55 million upgrade plan which would have expanded the center to 12,571 square feet and contained 770 square feet of storage at the May 13 Town Meeting.
At this meeting, the vote was 57% against and 43% in favor of the expansion, Selectman John Flynn said. Flynn is also an ex officio member of the Senior Center Building Committee. He highlighted at the July 29 Board of Selectmen meeting that the Senior Center Building Committee had interpreted the May 13 vote as an expression that residents were unhappy with the cost and lack of information about the project, but not against the project itself.
During discussion on July 29, the Hampden Board of Selectmen and Senior Center Building Committee discussed whether the fall Town Meeting would draw enough residents for the Hampden Senior Center reconsideration vote to take place as well as the likelihood that the reconsideration vote would result differently than the previous vote on May 13.
While the Building Committee is working to reduce the overall cost of the project, as requested by residents, the construction cost of the project may increase the longer that it is delayed, Flynn explained.
“We anticipate that even coming back in November or October, we’re still going to see a pretty substantial increase in the cost of the project from the cost standpoint even though the committee is committed to changing the scope to bring the cost down,” he stated.
“The hard cost of construction, because of the way the economy is going, could still increase so that even if you said 6,000 [square] feet is going to go down to 4,800 [square] feet, the cost of 4,800 [square] feet may be the same as 6,000 [square] feet was six months ago,” Flynn said, presenting an example of how the cost may not significantly decrease despite the committee’s work to achieve residents’ request.
“That’s the biggest thing is the construction costs are continuing to … spiral out of control,” Senior Center Building Committee member John Matthews Jr. agreed.
Concerning the possibility of utilizing Thornton Burgess School, Matthews explained that the committee was in the process of reviewing the possibility, stating that further town discussion was needed about the use of the school for the town hall or a community center.
Selectmen Craig Rivest further discussed this point, noting that town might have supported the original Senior Center proposal if the project was targeted as a community center for all demographics, rather than specifically for seniors. Similarly, he highlighted that the Senior Center’s hours were restrictive for working families looking to visit.
In response, Senior Center Executive Director Rebecca Moriarty stated that the center was offering evening activities for the community in September and October. More information about activities at the Senior Center are available in the center’s newsletter, which can be viewed online at hampdenma.gov/council-aging/pages/scantic-scribe-newsletter.
The fall Town Meeting will take place on Oct. 29, the Board of Selectmen agreed during a vote taken at its Aug. 1 meeting. The board had initially discussed hosting the meeting on Oct. 21 but changed the date after Moderator Richard Green stated he was unavailable on that day.
Thornton Burgess School
The Board of Selectmen also discussed an update on the use of Thornton Burgess School during the July 29 meeting. Town Administrator Brian Domina stated that Tighe & Bond was currently working on an assessment of the building’s conditions.
Board members agreed that the town would seek to take control of the building again, therefore ending the building’s lease to the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District, as previously discussed with the School Committee.
“We want to get this done as soon as possible,” Davenport said. He stated that the town would reach out to the School Committee about meeting to discuss an agreement.
