Nonprofit association must bid for quarters, begin paying; overall change said to improve programs
After 20 people, many of them seniors, crowded the Town Hall meeting room and heard 50 minutes of discussion, the Redevelopment Board voted unanimously Monday, Sept. 22, to transfer the majority of space used by the Arlington Senior Association to the Council on Aging.
In comments before the vote, the expected action angered some, one calling for an investigation. On the whole, many appeared to accept that the switch would lead to improved programs for senior citizens.
A report to the Redevelopment Board cites a key reason the action: “… by agreement, the non-profit ASA was expected to pay rent within two years of taking occupancy. This did not come to pass ….”
Further, the Council on Aging is expanding, and the space it now uses does not comply with a federal law requiring confidentiality.
Ex-selectman candidate questions
Maria Romano, a former selectmen candidate representing Town Meeting Precinct 7, asked questions about liability and space, and said she was satisfied with the answers — that there will be liability waiver and that space will not diminish for all senior programs.
Pauline Bergantino, an association board member who said her relationship with the Senior Center goes back 27 years, had a sharper view. “Absolutely disgusting,” she said. She called it a “scheme to put us out of business.”
She asked that the selectmen investigate and was told that the Redevelopment Board controls the property in question.
The nonprofit senior association, which dates to 1981, occupies 7,074 square feet of space in the Senior Center, a Sept. 19 report to the Redevelopment board says. The Council on Aging (COA), a town agency that dates to 1986, occupies 1,406 square feet of space in the center.
Space comparatively underused
The report from Carol Kowalski, director of planning, says: “Much of the space occupied by the ASA is comparatively under-utilized in the context of the demands on the Town’s Council on Aging.
The town plans to seek bids “as soon as possible” on a 300-square-foot office, and the senior association was encouraged to make an offer. The space is near the pool table room.
Viewpoints from the audience included that of Maureen Jackson, senior association clerk, who said the group raised close to $100,000 to furnish the center after the former Central School got a fresh start in 1986.
Mara Klein Collins, council president, said she sent the letter last May that cited privacy issues and got the current process rolling. Under the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, conversation about health care should be protected, and current space conditions did not allow that.
The further issue is the law involved. Kowalski told YourArlington that the Uniform Procurement Act, MGL Chapter 30B, “requires a specific process for the lease of municipal real property.” She said the review was in process before receipt of the letter from the council board cited by Collins.
Officials support changes
Those making clear that they believed the change would lead to increased programs for seniors were Kowalski, Christine Bongiorno, head of human services for the town; and Redevelopment Board Chair Christine Scypinski.
They said the plan was for the senior association to continue offering current programs, which include education and entertainment. Council programs tend to relate to health and welfare.
Kowalski said the council would make sure the association provided what they long have offered, but the council now would coordinate requests for space.
About 50 minutes after the meeting began, the Redevelopment Board voted, 5-0, to support the recommended changes.
Before the vote, discussion included the occupancy and leasing of another space in the Senior Center as well as at 23 Maple St., which is next door.
The nonprofit Mystic River Watershed Association has used about 769 square feet on the third floor. The group works with Arlington volunteers and town committees on water testing, open space and activities related to water quality in the watershed. The nonprofit would like to stay. Kowalski has told Executive Director EkOngKar Singh Khalsa that a request for proposals would be prepared for leasing this space.
At 23 Maple, the Northeast Family Institute operates the Community Intervention Program, short-term residential treatment. Its lease and extensions have ended, making it a tenant at will. A request for proposal for the space is in draft form for anticipated public posting in October. The current tenant would like to stay.
Leases are expected to be executed by January.
Architect options sought
In a separate agenda item, Bongiorno said the council will be requesting an estimated $80,000 for an architect’s plan that would offer options about how Senior Center space could be better used and whether an addition is possible.
There has been no building upgrade since the 1980s. Improvements could include changes to the entrance and adding a restroom there.
“We’re just starting the conversation,” she said.
Read the complete Sept. 19 report to the Redevelopment Board here >>
This story was published Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014, and updated the next day, to change the logo.
