ASHFIELD — Plans for the shared Senior Center for Buckland, Shelburne and Ashfield have been put on pause until March, after the Ashfield Selectboard and Finance Committee decided the town is no longer interested in being a part of the Senior Center expansion efforts.
A joint letter from the Selectboard and Finance Committee, signed by Selectboard members last month, states that while they support the Senior Center’s continuing focus on planning for the future of the town’s aging population, Ashfield “cannot commit to funding a building in another town, nor are (they) prepared to commit to a new West County Senior Services District, especially as (they) think through the financial models being proposed.”
Ashfield Selectboard members said the widespread financial impacts of the COVID-19 crisis have compelled them to make the decision to withdraw. While they “know this will be disappointing,” they said they feel it is “unwise for Ashfield to continue with the project at this time.”
“Our goal now will be to pause and reconsider how we can meet the needs of our residents in ways that strengthen our community and use our limited finances as effectively as possible,” the letter reads. “We believe the best way to do this is to continue to pay attention to what folks in Ashfield tell us about their needs, which includes requests for more services and resources located in town. We want to provide services and resources in ways that strengthen our commitment to local services, encourage inclusivity of all residents in the life of our town, and protect our fiscal health now and for our future.”
Speaking this week, Senior Center Expansion Committee Chair Sylvia Smith said there is no set financial figure being proposed yet, but rather what the expansion committee had been planning was the formation of a senior services district for the three towns. The hope had been to present this proposal for Annual Town Meeting votes this spring, but Smith said that will likely not happen following Ashfield’s withdrawal. The governance structure would be the entity through which the multi-town committee would seek to purchase the Masonic building at 7 Main St. in Shelburne Falls, and carry out the renovations for it to become the home of the expanded senior center.
“There’s no hard figure yet, but in order to proceed, we need to have some entity to be able to purchase the Masonic building,” Smith said.
While Smith said the formation of the West County Senior Services District would not cost anything, the continued project and future endeavors would. She said some financial models that had been assembled and “floated around” during the research process would have seen each town contribute based on their senior populations and the wealth of the community.
Following Ashfield’s withdrawal, Smith said the Senior Center Expansion Committee is currently taking a pause from meeting with members and will likely resume sometime in March. She said members found it difficult to hold meetings and gather public input in the midst of the pandemic. She noted the committee will be retaining the services of P-Three Technologies Inc. as project consultants.
“So we’re taking a little bit of a break, and we’re hoping that once we move past the pandemic we can seek more input,” Smith said.
She noted that the “need for Senior Center services hasn’t stopped” and when the committee meets again in March, it will assess what information to bring to the communities to keep them informed about the project’s progress. Smith said the Senior Center Expansion Committee wants to share information not only with municipal officials, but with the communities at large so its members can better understand what is needed and how to best address these needs.
The letter from Ashfield officials stated the town’s decision “should not be interpreted as lack of appreciation and support for all the Senior Center does” for Ashfield seniors, or the efforts to strengthen and expand on the services already being provided. The letter states they also believe it is important to think creatively about where and how services are provided in order to better meet the needs of seniors who do not live in or close to the center of Shelburne Falls.
“For our part, as we develop our plan for expanding our senior services,” the Ashfield letter reads, “we hope to continue to partner with the Senior Center and perhaps together we can develop a flexible and cost-effective model for providing services that will benefit all member towns.”
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.