Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Seniors Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Oakland seniors urge keeping twice‑weekly activities and renaming activity center to qualify for grants
Summary
Seniors and an activity center speaker told aldermen that planned cuts to senior programming would reduce services for roughly 50 regular attendees; residents urged the town to retain Thursday bingo and redesignate the facility to access senior‑center funding.
Residents asked the Town of Oakland Board of Aldermen to preserve twice-weekly senior programming at the town activity center and to change the facility's designation so it can pursue grants and other senior funding. One resident said the center draws about 50 seniors each meeting and called Thursday bingo "their life" and an essential social outlet.
The comments came during the citizen comment portion of the board meeting. The resident said staff had told patrons the center's senior activities would be cut from two days to one, and urged the board to "keep Terry running the activity center and hire somebody for the youth activities," so seniors would not lose their Thursday program.
The resident also presented a petition “almost two pages in length” with many signatures asking the board to "keep bingo on Thursday," the mayor said. The petitioner suggested changing the facility's formal classification from "activity center" to "senior center" so it could seek additional funding and grants.
Chase, a town recreation staff member, told the board that chair yoga and other programs are community events that currently do not charge participants and that staff are seeking to expand youth programming during summer months. Chase said line dancing was discontinued because participation did not justify the cost, and that the programming team has limited staffing: "that is a 3 person department, and he does have a gentleman out with..." (staffing reduced), meaning staffing constraints limit programming capacity and are a factor in proposed schedule changes.
Board members asked for clarification and were told the town provides limited funding for the activity center; seniors said they bring their own food and pay a small annual fee. No formal vote or ordinance was taken at the meeting on the activity center schedule; the discussion was a public request that staff and aldermen consider alternatives and seek funding options.
