Committee weighs opening Ashley Park Warming House community room for seniors; item tabled pending follow-up

Councilors urged the City Property Committee to pursue reopening the Ashley Park Warming House community room during weekdays so seniors in the South End would have an indoor place to gather. Committee members described existing Saturday and limited Friday programs and said residents have asked for daytime access Monday through Friday.

Parks, Recreation and Beaches representative Isidro Thomas Jr., who manages out-of-school-time programs, told the committee the department lacks capacity and funding to staff a daily weekday program. Thomas said the department is down two full-time administrative positions and relies heavily on grant funding to support programs and staff; those constraints limit the department’s ability to open the building every weekday without additional staff or outside support.

Committee discussion focused on lower-cost options: recruiting vetted volunteers, partnering with existing community groups, and arranging license agreements with outside organizations to open and operate programs at the site. Councilors suggested outreach to the Immigrants Assistance Center (IAC) and partnerships similar to agreements the city has used elsewhere, and they discussed using license agreements so partner organizations can hold keys and run programs without daily city staffing.

Councillors also raised infrastructure barriers. Councilors noted the building currently lacks city network internet access, and committee members said Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding and other resources had been considered but not finalized to provide connectivity.

Actions and next steps - Motion to receive and place the written motion on file (request that Parks leadership discuss opening Ashley Park Warming House community room and other city services at the location): moved by Councilor Brian Gomes, seconded by Councilor Perera. Outcome: approved by voice vote. - After discussion, Councilor Perera moved to table the item until Director Mary Raposa responds to inquiries about volunteers and operational options; motion seconded by Councilor Gomes. The committee voted to table pending those responses.

Clarifying details - Current programming: Saturday youth program and limited Friday adult/youth programs; recent low turnout for some evening events. - Staffing: Parks & Recreation reported two full-time administrative vacancies and said current staff are committed to summer and field programs. - Volunteers: The department uses a volunteer-signup system; volunteers are screened (background checks/corollary checks) and have been considered but so far have not provided sufficient consistent coverage. - Infrastructure: No city network internet currently in the building; past proposals for CDBG-supported connectivity were not finalized.

Community relevance - Geographies: Ashley Park and the South End of New Bedford. - Impact groups: seniors in the South End, youth program participants, community organizations and potential volunteer networks.

Outcome: The committee asked staff to follow up with Director Mary Raposa about volunteer options, licensing/partnership possibilities and infrastructure, and tabled the matter for a future meeting pending those responses.