Commission votes to keep senior center membership fees waived; staff cites donations and access

The Newington Senior Center Commission voted to continue waiving the routine $5 membership fee and to rely on donations in lieu of charging a nominal annual membership, commissioners were told.

A staff member presented account figures to frame the decision: the donations account balance was reported in the meeting as $63,516 and total program-related funding cited at $289,427. "If we charged $5 per person for our roughly 1,400 members, we're going to have significantly less," the staff member said, recommending that the commission "follow the same format this year and waive membership fees in lieu of donation requests." The staff report noted that donations year-to-date (figure stated in the meeting) were higher than the revenue a $5 fee would produce.

Commissioner discussion emphasized keeping the center accessible and reducing barriers for people with financial hardship; one commissioner summarized that the program "isn't broken," and the commission approved continuing the current approach. The meeting record indicates the motion carried with "all in favor" and no opposition recorded; the transcript does not record a precise vote tally or identify the mover and seconder for the membership fee motion.

Staff said membership renewal letters will be sent in the next week or two, and the commission noted that a separate fee remains for use of the exercise room (about $25 a year plus an initial training fee).