Members of the public, about a third of them seniors, packed a meeting last week to show very little favor toward the idea of moving the town's Senior Center to a North Main Street location.

The item was on the agenda for the first time at a June 28 meeting of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) Administrative Services Committee. The Board of Selectmen (BOS) voted June 16 to have the RTM look into a building-swap idea introduced by First Selectman Anthony "Unk" DaRos.

The proposed swap would move the overburdened Senior Center from its 8,000 square-foot space in the Canoe Brook building on Cherry Street into what would be a renovated, 14,000 square-foot commercial building at 175 North Main Street. That building, owned by Queach Corporation of Branford, would be given to Branford in exchange for the former U.S. Post Office building (approximately 4,000 square feet) at 1111 Main Street, currently the cramped home of the Branford Board of Education (BOE) offices. The BOE offices would move into the larger Canoe Brook building, also to be renovated by the town.

The Administrative Services Committee heard more than an hour of testimony, mainly from those against moving the Senior Center to North Main Street. Complaints ranged from moving away from in-town conveniences within walking distance to whether the renovated building would be something Branford would be proud to call a home to its seniors.

Resident David Goclowski, Republican candidate for state representative (102nd District), told the committee he'd toured Wallingford's nine year-old senior center just that morning with Branford senior George Dwyer. The two brought back photos and descriptions of the center's expansive campus, pristine and modern interiors, and service areas including an in-house restaurant, gym, nurses' station, and more.

"The pride we've taken in our community center, they have taken in their senior center…Our senior citizens deserve not only to have their needs met, but their desires," said Goclowski.

"The senior center business has changed," noted Dwyer. "It's not like it used to be where you [come to] play cards and checkers…It has changed and we need the space to be able to facilitate [those changes]…Fourteen thousand [square] feet is not enough. In a few years, it's going to be locked up again."

DaRos pointed out the Main Street building is merely an "envelope," adding, "our building, inside, would end up looking better than that one in Wallingford…Fourteen thousand [square] feet is a lot of space."

Resident and business owner Kurt Schwanfelder, who once served on the RTM Administrative Services Committee, reminded the committee it has purview over town land transactions. He compared the Main Street-North Main Street building swap to a game of Monopoly. The post office building was like a coveted "Park Place or Boardwalk" that shouldn't be exchanged for a less desirable "Mediterranean or Baltic" Avenue, he said.

"Why would you invest in a parcel of property and give up a shining star in the center of town…Do you get the proper value?" Schwanfelder asked.

After all public input was heard, the committee voted to re-refer the item to its next meeting for further discussion and public input.

"If this is what it takes to spark an interest, I'll do it every time," said DaRos, who has been a longtime advocate of finding a newer, larger home for the town's seniors.

"We've been looking at it for a year [and] didn't know if it could work," he said of 175 North Main Street. "We had experts look at it [who] said it was very feasible. At least we know it could be used and, if so, it should be looked at."

Your Comment

What do you think about the plan to move the Senior Center from its current home on Cherry Street to the commercial building at North Main Street? Weigh in by leaving your comment below this story.

Your Comments

What do you think about the plan to move the Senior Center from its current home on Cherry Street to the commercial building at North Main Street? Weigh in by leaving your comment below this story.