Austintown residents pack meeting to discuss plan for senior center

By Elise Franco

AUSTINTOWN — Residents filled the township administration building in support of the proposal to bring a senior center or multigenerational center to the township.

The township administration brought in Jack O’Connell, board chairman for the Girard Multi-Generational Center, and Ray Novotny, director of the Niles Senior Center, on Thursday to discuss what it would take to make a similar facility a reality in Austintown.

Ohio is home to 450 full- and part-time senior centers, according to the Ohio Department of Aging.

Trustee David Ditzler said Austintown is the perfect place for either type of center because of the township’s demographics.

Diztler said of the 20,000 registered voters in Austintown, 11,000 are of retirement age, and 16 percent of the total population is 65 or older.

“This really is something we have a strong belief there is a need for in our community,” he said.

Gary Brandt, 77, said he would love to see a senior center developed in Austintown.

“I’m elated. ... It shows our community wants this senior center,” he said.

Brandt said bringing this type of facility to his hometown will give him and his wife a place to go to spend quality time together.

“We’ll have some place where we can go to do things like line dancing and crocheting,” he said. “It’ll be good for us.”

Jack O’Connell, board chairman of the Girard center, said it’s a pricey process and one the township and its residents need to be 100 percent on board with.

“It’s a tremendous expenditure, but in my mind, one that’s well worth it for your community and your seniors,” he said.

O’Connell said major expenses include making sure everything is handicap-accessible and installing elevators if the building is more than one story. His funding came in 2000 from the federal government with the help of former congressman Jim Traficant, but O’Connell said that’s only one of several options.

“Our elevator alone cost $185,000. ... Utilities are $65,000 per year,” he said. “We wouldn’t be able to do this without the federal government.”

Trustee Lisa Oles said in order to determine the best course of action, committees will be formed to discuss specific areas such as funding and a center site.

Oles said the administration has already looked at several potential sites, including the former St. Joseph’s School on New Road, the township-owned Westchester Building on Westchester Drive and the old Salvation Army building on Mahoning Avenue.

“This is something that we want suggestions and ideas on,” Oles said.

Funding options include federal, state or local government funding, grants, senior-service levies, donations through nonprofit organizations and individual donations.

Brandt said if the township decides to put a senior-service tax levy on the ballot, he would support it.

“A senior levy would be a great way to go,” he said. “And I think others would feel the same way.”

Oles assured residents it’s not the administration’s goal to raise taxes, which is why a committee will determine the best way to secure funding,

“We just want to provide the best services to our residents,” she said. “If other communities have this, why can’t we?”

The other major decision is which type of center to develop. Diztler said he would like to eventually see the center become multigenerational, even if it begins as a senior center.

“There are needs on both ends of the spectrum,” he said. “I’d like to see it move in the direction of multigenerational, especially if we find a building conducive to expansion.”

Anyone interested in becoming a member of a planning committee should contact township administrator Mike Dockry at (330) 792-8584, Trustee Lisa Oles at (330) 540-6537 or Bill Adams at (330) 793-8961.

efranco@vindy.com