Senior Center committee ranks sites

Published by The Boston Globe

The Needham Senior Center Exploratory Committee decided after a heated discussion last night to recommend three of the five sites they have considered for a new Needham senior center location—the Needham Heights MBTA Lot on West Street, Greene’s Field on Pickering Street and Ridge Hill on Charles Street.

The committee voted to rank the three sites, with the MBTA lot as their first choice and Ridge Hill as their last choice. Rosemary Hill on Rosemary Street and Emery Grover on Highland Avenue were eliminated.

“Cost is an issue [with Rosemary Hill]. We have to build something we can afford,” said committee member Matthew Borelli. “Greene’s and the Heights give flexibility for future expansion; we can build upon them, and we can’t build on Emery Grover.”


The committee also voted to recommend a size for the new center as close to 20,000 square feet as possible, voicing concerns that funds may not allow for a center that large. Members of the Council on Aging, who run the current senior center on Pickering Street, have specified that 20,000 square feet would fit the programmatic needs of the center.

Finally, the committee included in their letter to the Board of Selectmen a request to construct the new senior center, if possible, without an property tax increase.

The committee will present their recommendations to the Board of Selectmen at the selectmen’s meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at 500 Dedham Ave. The Board is expected to vote on the recommendations on Oct. 12.

Needham has a borrowing capacity of about $5 million for the new center, said Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick. If the project costs any more than what the town can afford, the rest of the costs could be covered by reallocating town funds, changing the size of the project or fundraising, she said.

Jim Healy, committee co-chair, said all the sites the committee had been examining, except for Rosemary Hill, could be funded without a tax increase. Ridge Hill and Emery Grover could receive additional funds from the Community Preservation Act.

About 70 people attended the Exploratory Committee meeting at the senior center last night to watch the 11 members deliberate. Selectman Mo Handel argued for recommending all five sties and ranking them in order of preference, but he was overruled by most of the rest of the committee.

The committee recognized that the selectmen could possibly disregard their recommendations and choose a site they have eliminated, but several members expressed confidence that the selectmen will respect their two years of work.

“It makes a strong statement if we say some sites are not suitable,” said Mary Elizabeth Weadock, who is also a member of the Council on Aging.

Marianne Cooley voiced concern with eliminating sites because the remaining three include one that was very recently included—the MBTA lot—and one that has caused controversy. The consideration of Greene’s Field has brought opposition from some who say building on the field would take away needed open space in the town.

“My goal is to end up with a site we can build senior center on, not a site that’s going to divide the town,” Cooley said.

Healy, however, said the committee must choose sites they feel are in the town’s best interest without considering politics.

“I don’t think you should change what you in your heart believe is right just because you think end result is going to be more difficult,” he said.

The committee took two votes, first ranking the three choices in order of preference, then ranking the top two from the first vote. Healy said the method of voting would eliminate a minority winner.

In the first round of votes, the MBTA lot received 29 votes, Greene’s Field received 22 and Ridge Hill received 15.

In the second round, the MBTA lot received 20 votes, and Greene’s Field received 13.