Where will all the seniors go?

Daily News reporter Stephen Tait covered last night’s ZBA meeting in City Hall’s council chamber, but apparently the paper failed to send a reporter upstairs to the auditorium for the City Council’s planning & development subcommittee meeting.

As recently pointed out by the mystery man or woman behind Newburyport According to X, last night’s meeting was devoted to the proposed feasibility plan to locate a senior center at Cushing Park.

The meeting was well attended with about 30 people, including Mayor John Moak, Council on Aging director Roseann Robillard, and the quorum of City Councilors James Shanley, Brian Derrivan, Donna Holaday, Ed Cameron, Kathleen O’Connor Ives, and Barry Connell (the latter three being the subcommittee composition).

After various city officials and others in attendance stressed the importance for a senior center due to current COA activities held in 6+ buildings around town and a projection for increased senior services over the next decades, and reviewing numerous sites considered around town (industrial park, Fulton Pit, Cashman Park, National Guard armory, etc.), talk focused on the proposed Cushing Park location.

One by one, people stood up and opined on locations, logistics, parking lines, and loud noises. (The latter being those of teenagers, if kids are playing in the fields adjacent to a Cushing Park site.)

Over the course of the 2-hour meeting, a few issues were resolved:

1. With respect to a senior center building on the waterfront, the mayor said the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority has never suggested such a site on their property.

2. Downtown locations are not preferred by Robillard despite proximity to the public library, post office, and other popular buildings. Her reasoning is that a lack of traffic congestion is more important that convenience.

3. The process to locate a senior center in Newburyport began over eight years ago, and everyone agrees it’s crucial to end the process sooner than later.

Other issues were unresolved:

1. What to do with parking?

The mayor’s 2006 feasibility plan, which is a draft at best, assumes so many square feet for the building and so much green space, which if it is to be the final plan, removes approximately 40 parking spaces from the current lot. However, the mayor argued the city ought to better manage the lot, such as issuing citations or removing non-conforming vehicles.

2. Can we locate by the Route 1 traffic circle and share a site with Newbury?

As long as the concept of Newburyport providing Newbury with water service for their Little River project remains outstanding, offers can still be put on the table, such as a combined senior center despite its proposed footprint being smaller than on Cushing Park.

3. Keep it a senior center alone, or combine it into a community center?

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