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Resident criticizes new 'Reach' township publication for limited senior-center coverage
Summary
At the April 23 meeting a resident told the Macomb Township Board that the newly mailed 'REACH' publication, soon to be called the Macomb Township Magazine, allocates insufficient space to senior-center programs and appears to prioritize advertising.
Kathy Western, a Macomb Township resident, told the Board of Trustees on April 23 she was disappointed that the township’s new mailed publication — described in fall/winter promotional material as a senior-center newsletter called Reach Beyond — instead arrived as a 31-page magazine with only two pages of senior-center programming.
"It include[s] roughly 15 pages of advertising," Western said, and "the amount of space dedicated to senior programs was just 2 pages out of the 31." She said the publication’s contents raised questions about how the township will present senior programming and asked the board to allocate more space to senior programs in future issues.
Why it matters: Western said the initial announcement led seniors and community members to expect a focused newsletter for older adults, and she and the county older-adult advisory participants she spoke with viewed the mailed magazine as insufficiently targeted to older residents.
Board response and context: Clerk Posey acknowledged the comment and said the matter had been discussed with county commissioners at a recent meeting. Trustee Cusimano later thanked Western for the remarks and called them an “important” citizen critique. No board action was taken at the meeting; members did not vote on changes to the publication.
What was said: Western described the publication’s stated purpose in a previous announcement as "a brand new Senior Center newsletter called Reach Beyond for older adults age 55" and said the mailed magazine instead contained broad content, including adult activities such as a class labeled "Pound." Western said she raised the issue with county older-adult advisory members and wants future publications to give senior programs greater prominence.
Next steps: The board did not set a formal follow-up at the meeting. Western said she hopes the township will allocate more space to senior programs in future issues; trustees thanked her for the input and acknowledged the importance of citizen feedback.
This public comment occurred during the meeting’s public-comment period for non-agenda items; no ordinance, contract or budget change was proposed or voted on in response to the remarks.
