Council asks for invoices, delays vote after discovering unpaid senior‑center utility bills from earlier years

City councilors were told that invoices for the senior center’s share of utilities dating back to 2021 (and possibly earlier) were not paid during that period and that the landlord recently sought repayment covering multiple years. Councilors expressed concern about oversight and asked for documentation before approving a budget amendment to pay the bills.

Heather from the mayor’s office said she drafted the resolution after the landlord (Galvin) notified the mayor’s office in the prior week; she said the invoices were issued to the senior center email account and for an unclear reason were not paid. Heather said the senior‑center account last paid invoices while the senior center had been under the youth department. She identified the underlying lease as executed around February 2013 (dates cited as 02/2011 or 02/2013 in discussion). Council members asked for copies of the lease and the unpaid invoices, and several members said they wanted the commissioner responsible for the senior center to appear at the next meeting or to correspond by email in advance.

Council members raised oversight concerns: a council member said the senior center had not produced recent reports, the center's clerk had not submitted invoices, and the county recently found the center in a condition that required cleaning. One councilor asked how utility costs were allocated given shared common areas (for example, a library with different hours), and who had authority to sign or approve the lease or invoices.

Council members asked the clerk and mayor’s office staff to provide the lease and the invoices before the council acted. The council agreed to table the budget amendment until staff provides the lease, copies of the unpaid invoices, and until the commissioner either appears or provides written responses to questions.