Letter: Walley School project is not a solid plan at all

Posted 5/18/22

To the editor:

As the former Treasurer on the Board of Directors at Benjamin Church Senior Center, I have been hearing and seeing things posted and written regarding the “Walley School …

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Letter: Walley School project is not a solid plan at all

Posted

To the editor:

As the former Treasurer on the Board of Directors at Benjamin Church Senior Center, I have been hearing and seeing things posted and written regarding the “Walley School Project” and its new name of “Bristol Senior Center”. As a senior myself, and a Bristol resident my entire life, I decided to look into things a little further, as I know that we have had a senior center here in Bristol since the early seventies and believe, for most of those years, it was actually called the Bristol Senior Center. You all know, the one at the corner of Hope and Chestnut, “The Yellow House” as it is famously known.

So apparently, the Town of Bristol received a grant secured by Congressman David Cicilline. The purpose of this grant and yes, I did secure a copy of it for authenticity purposes, is very interesting and non-ambiguous for its use. This funding will be used to support the design and full rehabilitation of the decommissioned Walley School to “Convert it into a municipal senior services facility. Funding for this project will help the Town of Bristol effectively coordinate local senior service activities and respond to the rapidly changing needs of Bristol’s Senior population.”

My question is, how will the town’s plan insure that these monies and this new space, at the tune of over $3.8 million, will be designated for our senior population?

I recently watched the town council meetings of Dec. 1 and Jan. 19 describing the plan to get a better idea of what the plan was going to be. Very interesting indeed. I’ll just give you a short synopsis of statements made describing the plan, but urge you to watch yourself:

“It will be a place for the pickle ball folks to use the bathroom, it will be a place for people to come sit and cool off, it will be a place where people can come in for a cup of coffee…We will have a few classes here to catch the overflow from the Recreation Center…it is closer to the community’s lower income area and will help with servicing child services and social services…the youth of downtown cannot make it to the recreation center, we will be able to service them better here on the common…Mt. Carmel School is interested in leasing part of the building…it would not only be a space for seniors but a local hub in Bristol for all ages not just Senior space…we will have complimentary services…it will enhance what the Benjamin Church Senior Center is doing,” and the best one “We will not call it a senior center.”

Is this what they think a senior center is? I can assure you, a senior center is so much more than that!

So, let’s be real. This is not going to be a “New Modern Senior Center”. It is going to be yet another town building with a few employees being moved from one space to another, leaving other town spaces emptier. Another town building with millions spent on it with no long-term plan in place. Look at the Burnside Building and 9 Court St., empty and sold after spending millions. A complete waste! A “fly by the seat of your pants, but hey, we got the money” kind of plan. One has to wonder what the real plan is here. Surely it is not what has been spewed from the mouths of our town officials as the next best thing since slice bread and certainly should not be called a “senior center”.

This is why the seniors, the public, the community, the lower income, the youth and all Bristol residents should have had the chance to give their input on this issue.

Olivia Germano
River Street

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