ORANGE — The Council on Aging voted unanimously to suspend its van service, citing a lack of demand and no driver.
The agency acquired the van earlier this year with the help of a $25,000 Massachusetts Councils on Aging grant as well as $20,000 from the final will and testament of Orange resident Thalma A. Wright, who died in 2013. However, COA member Denise Andrews remotely addressed the Selectboard on Oct. 21 and explained the decision to suspend the service.
“The usage is not there,” she said. “The cost is significant — gas, driver, maintenance.”
The van’s schedule was based on demand. It was intended to pick up clients at their homes, as opposed to a bus stop, and bring them to appointments, events, voting polls and other destinations. The Selectboard set fees at $1.50 one way and $3 round-trip.
Andrews mentioned that Joanne “Jodi” Walker, who was hired as a van driver around March, no longer works in that capacity. She said the van will be used to transport senior citizens on three planned trips — one to a harvest festival at Red Apple Farm in Phillipston and two to Bright Nights at Forest Park, a 3-mile holiday drive-thru light display in Springfield, on Dec. 2 and Dec. 15. The van fee is $5 for the harvest festival and $15 for Bright Nights, which also carries a $2 event fee. Anyone interested should call the COA at 978-544-3481.
Selectboard member Julie Davis said she was disappointed to hear about the service suspension.
“I know that there was so much excitement around receiving that van and the donation of the money to purchase the van,” she said.
Selectboard member Kelli Gervais, who is the COA liaison, said every effort was made to make the van service successful.
“It just wasn’t feasible, sadly,” she explained.
Andrews said the van will be declared surplus and put up for auction if there are no local buyers.
She also updated the Selectboard on the possibility of a senior center for Orange by 2030. The main potential site is the former Butterfield School, which closed in 2015 due to declining enrollment and the town’s financial issues. Another option, Andrews said, is creating a regional model and expanding the footprint of the Athol Senior Center at 82 Freedom St. She mentioned that idea was broached 10 to 15 years ago, but gained no traction. She said it would be sensible because many Orange senior citizens, who make up about 25% of the town’s population, go to Athol and Erving for senior programming.
Andrews said this project will easily cost at least $1 million, no matter where the senior center winds up. She said a nonprofit entity like the Friends of the Orange Council on Aging must fundraise for any matching grants the town receives. However, she mentioned, the Friends have only two members.
A public information meeting regarding a potential senior center is scheduled for St. Mary’s Parish Hall from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Nov. 6.
