North Brookfield selectmen authorize survey, push to revive underused senior center

The North Brookfield Board of Selectmen on July 29 authorized a mailed survey to residents aged 60 and older and discussed steps to increase participation at the town’s senior center. The board heard that the center serves far fewer people than the town’s senior population and agreed to solicit volunteer help to rebuild outreach and programming.

Why it matters: Selectmen said a substantial portion of the town’s population is 60 and older, and they framed the survey as a first step to determine what hours, transportation options and activities would attract more users and reduce reliance on the center’s current limited schedule.

Selectman Ralph K., the board’s liaison to the Council on Aging, told the board, “We have approximately 1,500 seniors in this town, about about a third of the population. We're only servicing, maybe around 12.” He later added a more immediate attendance figure: “We had 20 today.”

Ralph described the board’s immediate plan: compile a mailing list of residents aged 60 and up, mail a survey with a self-addressed envelope to the selectmen’s office and recruit volunteers to build a database and help with mailings. He said the town would use a grant to cover postage costs. Ralph urged broad outreach and suggested non–center-based activities — for example, sponsoring a bowling league or arranging evening pitch (card) games at existing venues — as ways to increase participation without requiring the center to be open.

Council on Aging Director Courtney Rivera was identified in the meeting roster as the COA director; she was listed as present but did not give extended remarks in the transcript excerpt recorded for this item. Resident and Council on Aging participant Judy Manning shared later in public comment that the town had recently run a well-attended hot-dog event for seniors and praised collaborative community support for senior activities.

Board members asked that the survey include key operational questions, including whether seniors are retired or working (to assess whether evening hours would help) and whether they have transportation to reach the center. One selectman noted that many area senior centers operate during daytime hours (roughly 9 a.m.–2 p.m.) and that changing hours could broaden access for people who work or have daytime commitments.

The board also flagged volunteers as a near-term need: the center lost its outreach director, and members encouraged residents to consider volunteering to help prepare meals, run programs or assist with transportation. The board said any changes would be guided by survey results and volunteer capacity; no decision was made to alter hours or services at this meeting.

The selectmen emphasized that the survey is intended as a diagnostic tool: to collect preferences on hours, types of activities and transportation needs and then convene a small working group to propose concrete next steps. Ralph said he would assemble the mailing list “within the next couple of days” and expected the group to draft the survey and start outreach quickly.

Board members and public commenters also described recent successful community activities — including the hot-dog event for seniors and a cybersecurity program that drew roughly 15 attendees — as examples of programming that could be more widely publicized and replicated if the town improves its outreach.

Looking ahead, the board expects to review survey results, recruit volunteers to run programming, and consider modest publicity (monthly newsletters and use of grant funds for postage) to increase awareness. No formal policy changes or budgetary commitments were adopted at the meeting; the board’s actions were limited to authorizing the survey and asking for volunteer support and follow-up work.