Going into the March 7 Independence Township Board meeting, the picture of a new senior center was less muddled. Still, no one close to the project claimed to have a crystal clear view of what the future holds.
The most significant advancement in the proposal came late on Monday as a draft of ballot language was distributed to trustees and township parks and recreation officials.
‘We have not had a chance as a full committee to review the ballot language,? Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Chair David Lohmeier said.
On Jan. 19, the PRAC asked the board to examine a millage between .25-.5 mills to support the new senior center. At .25 mills, $408,880 would be generated annually with a $30.37 average cost per year to residents. At .5 mills, $817,760 would be generated annually with an average yearly cost of $60.74 to taxpayers. Those figures are based on households whose taxable value is $121,471. The PRAC also suggested a $3 million bond issue be added to the August ballot for construction of a new senior center.
According to Independence Township Parks and Recreation Director Mike Turk, the draft of the ballot language mirrored the PRAC’s suggestion of a $3 million dollar bond issue to pay for the costs of construction of a new senior center.
While the estimate of $3 million for construction did not change, neither did the picture of what that money would buy.
‘At this point, the detailed construction costs are unknown. There is no detailed break down of what the plans should be and we didn’t have the language and we want to look at that as a group,? said Lohmeier, who corroborated the language of the draft documents.
Though there is a chance the Independence Township Board of Trustees could have voted to put the millage and bond issue on the August ballot during the Tuesday night meeting, some felt the timing was not right.
‘If the board decides they want to put it on the ballot, then I will support them, but I think it’s the wrong move to make at this time,? Independence Township Supervisor Dave Wagner said.
Lohmeier wanted the board to hold off in voting the proposal for a new senior center onto the August ballot so the PRAC had time to review the official language and the township can acquire detailed estimates of the construction.
‘The schools have already set the bar for the level of detail the people expect to see,? Lohmeier said.
He felt that providing voters with a clear picture of how the $3 million becomes a new senior center would go a long way towards approval of the bond in August.
Construction of the new senior center is only one piece of the puzzle. The other is how the building and the programs provided will be paid for on a day to day basis. Turk and Lohmeier both mentioned the township board would see paperwork calling for an increase of $100,000 in the senior center’s operational costs in the new building.
‘Those are preliminary costs, I think it will be more than that,? said Turk in regard to the operating cost estimate.
Lohmeier felt the operating cost estimate jibed with the original millage proposal in regard to running the senior center. He mentioned the operating costs were estimated to be $560,000 in total.
?$560,000 a year is still within the .25-.5 mil range,? Lohmeier said.
Should the money be approved for a new senior center, Parks and Recreation would be the first beneficiary as currently funds to support the senior center come from its budget.
‘We really can’t build and operate a new senior center and then have Parks and Recreation suffer,? Turk said.
Going forward, Lohmeier and the PRAC will tour the Rochester Senior Center as they consider whether or not the proposal for a new senior center in Independence should have a gym included. Speaking as an individual, Lohmeier felt a gym would require a second building to be constructed and could open the senior center building up to use for the whole community.
Also on the PRAC’s docket are discussions concerning an appropriate name for the building. Lohmeier felt the question of whether the building would be referred to as a senior center or something more generic was partially tied to whether or not the gym was added to the proposal.
‘Naming and the gym are two things we owe the board an opinion on,? Lohmeier said.
Provided the Independence board does not vote for the senior center millage and bond issue to appear on the August ballot on March 7, Lohmeier thinks everything should be in order for them to do so by the beginning of April.
The happening in the March 7 meeting occured too late for this edition of The Clarkston News. The March 15 edition of the paper will carry a full review of the meeting.