As the Greenfield Town Council reconsiders its vote on a new senior center proposal Wednesday night, the pressure is on to get it right — the right design for the right price.
Defining what the right proposal looks like has gotten trickier since the former Davis Street School lot was selected as the best site.
Most everyone seems to agree that a new center is long overdue. The problems associated with the existing space at the Weldon House, the senior center’s home since 1982, are well-documented. A modern, more spacious building would allow growth in the number of senior citizens using the building as well as programs and services for seniors and others in the community. For more years than we wish to count, Greenfield has looked at sites and proposals. In the end, though, eagerness to close the deal shouldn’t rush the town into a decision unless all the facts are clear.
Costs are very much on the minds of councilors, the mayor and other residents who are considering a plan previously rejected with first a $5.25 million price tag, and then a $4.75 million one. Since then, Mayor William Martin, his advisory committee and architects have scaled back the plan to bring the price point to where the mayor can close a deal with the council and the public. And they remind everyone they can that the building will have a multi-purpose room for use by the community at large.
While this project falls under capital spending and isn’t paid all in one year, the loan payments will eventually filter down into annual property tax bills. The mayor argues the town’s annual operating budget has enough room to accommodate the payments.
Be that as it may, what has been missing in much of the public conversation about the proposal has been a breakdown of the cost.
How much for removal of the existing two-story brick schoolhouse building and cleanup, for example? Is the price based solely on square footage or on an aesthetic the architects envision? How much do safety codes and American with Disabilities Act requirements and energy efficiency issues drive costs?
Answering these questions would help everyone better evaluate the project, its benefits and its affordability
We hope that the information will be provided in the mayor’s presentation tonight of a scaled-down plan, for which he has declined to give a new cost estimate until tonight’s council meeting.
Tonight’s discussion and possible vote on a plan should result in Greenfield getting it right for the entire community, regardless of what the pressure is for getting it now.