Conducting a feasibility study and addressing the concerns of Addison senior citizens were the main topics Oct. 20 as officials met for the second time in four months to discuss the idea of building a multi-community senior/transportation center.
‘What we’re doing is just exploring this possibility,? said Oakland County Commissioner Eric Wilson (R-Lake Orion). ‘There’s no firm commitment ? no commitment for anybody to do anything until we know the seniors want to do this. This is something the seniors have to want to do.?
In June, representatives from Oxford, Orion and Addison townships and Oakland County met at the invitation of Wilson and Commissioner Bill Patterson (R-Oxford) to discuss the idea of constructing a single senior center to serve the three northeastern townships.
This proposed center would also house the North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA), which currently provides free transportation to area seniors.
David Asker and GregVanKirk, of the Southfield-based Plante Moran, PLLC, met with officials at this second meeting to outline plans for a feasibility study concerning the project idea.
The feasibility study would consist of examining the demand for a multi-community senior center; examining the usage patterns, programs and attendance at the existing centers; developing a list programs and amenities for the proposed center and estimating the amount of space needed for them; site selection; estimating the preliminary construction and site development costs; estimating annual operation costs; and reviewing funding alternatives to pay for the center’s construction and on-going operational costs.
In its Oct. 14 letter to Wilson, Plante Moran said the feasibility study could be completed in 90 to 120 days with a cost not to exceed $20,000. So far, Wilson and Patterson have raised about $13,000 thanks to a $3,000 donation from United Way and $10,000 contribution from NOTA.
‘Bill and I believe we can raise the additional $7,000 in the next month,? Wilson said.
Officials noted the feasibility study must gain input from both seniors who attend the existing centers and those who do not come.
‘I think you need to go beyond your senior center,? said Mary Miller, representing the Older Persons Commission of Rochester. ‘In some centers, you have 25 people out of a senior population of 6,000. Why aren’t they coming to that center? That’s where you need to focus (to find out what they want).?
‘If you ask the seniors at the center, they’re going to be happy with what they have. They don’t want anybody else coming in. They want their small group. You’ve really got to go to the people in the community (and find out) why aren’t they coming to that center,? Miller added.
Commissioner Patterson noted he’s ‘seeing mixed emotions? on the idea of a multi-community senior center from those who attend the existing centers.
‘Some of them are afraid that their little niche is going to be taken away from them,? Patterson said. ‘I’m telling them it’s not mandatory. That’s why we are running this feasibility study to see (if) the people want it, where can we put it, the whole nine yards.?
Jessica Newby voiced the concerns and opinions of the seniors she works with as a volunteer at the Addison Senior Center.
Newby told officials 50 Addison seniors voted to create a seven-member board, which in turn voted against the idea of a multi-community center.
‘They want an Addison facility that is personal and a family,? she said. ‘They do not want to travel. And these seniors have asked me to make it clear to the people here that’s what they want.?
‘They want to stay in their location,? Newby said.
Newby said she agrees with the idea of doing a feasibility study, which she called ‘fantastic,? but she wants to ‘make sure the feasibility study includes Addison seniors? opinions.?
‘I’m in there every single day,? she said. ‘I’m family with these people. I love these people.?
Newby said she’s ‘afraid? a ‘mass facility like this? won’t have a place for the ‘older seniors,? especially the ones who suffer from diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Officials assured Newby and Addison seniors that nothing is going to be forced on them or taken away.
‘No one is going to be forced to do anything or join anything. If the 50 people you represent are content as they are, no one’s going to force them to change,? said Jim Milford, of Orion, a member the county’s senior advisory committee.
‘Nobody’s telling them we’re going to terminate the program they have. Nobody’s telling them we’re going to terminate jobs. All we’re saying is, ‘Look, we want to offer you what other communities have out there,? said Commissioner Wilson.
‘If they don’t want to participate, that’s their decision,? said Wilson, who reminded Newby, ‘You don’t represent all the seniors, first of all. You represent 50. And there’s more than 50 seniors in Addison Township ? that I know. We’re going to talk to all of them.?
Wilson said NOTA, which runs its vans from an Oxford location, currently transports seniors from three different communities to three different center locations.
With a multi-community senior/transportation center, NOTA could run its vans to and from a single, same location, thereby saving money on fuel and maintenance, Wilson said.
Wilson said the whole idea is to find out if the three townships can utilize their resources ‘better? by ‘putting them into a pool and doing it at one location.?
Wilson noted that all three townships currently fund their senior programs using their own tax dollars or through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.
‘That may be enough to get us going,? said Wilson, adding that’s how NOTA is funded.