Marian Knapp has added to last month’s Newton Tab column with an article in this week’s edition. It’s called “My vision for a new senior center.” It is not yet available on line, so I am writing this to encourage people to dig their copy out of the snowbank and/or to read a few pertinent quotes here. No one can question Knapp’s commitment, experience, and knowledge of this field. That she is offering her thoughts from the outside of the NewCAL planning process suggests that much is missing within that process.
Newton residents ages 50 to 100-plus are about 40% of our population. Within that 50-year span, there are multiple generations with different experiences, expectations, wishes and needs. Acknowledging this broad scale unveils a special opportunity to consider what senior intergenerational means from younger old to older old.
This leads me to my vision of what our new senior center could be. It is an innovative magnet for people in the various generations within the 50-100+ range and is proudly promoted as such. It purposely keeps people part of a community–day and night. It is centrally located so that people from Ward 1 to Ward 8 know where it is and how to get there. There is housing for seniors; residents take a class together and then go to dinner. It is accessible by public transportation. It is in a vibrant village . . . .
We must think hard, work hard, and get it right. But it won’t be right until we rethink aging and build for a new paradigm.
There is a winning formula here for Mayor Fuller and her administration if they would just take a breath and listen. There is a road to success, as Knapp describes it, “a beautiful building that proudly says we respect and value seniors, and [is] not afraid to show it.” There remains a chance for unity of purpose, government, and community if our political leadership is open to that possibility rather than the narrow path they’ve chosen to date.
I love the idea of having senior housing as part of it. I look forward to the column coming online so I can read it.
Here is the NewCal vision statement:
The City of Newton’s goal, as an age friendly community, is to build a large, well equipped, comfortable Center to meet the unique interests and needs of older adults, both those currently using the Senior Center and many others who are not. The Center will foster a special sense of community and belonging for this growing group. The facility will be designed to optimize the quality of life for Newton’s older adults and those who support them, through welcoming, respectful and meaningful opportunities that engage, value, and empower older adults to remain independent and important assets in our community. When spaces within this facility are not programmed for older adults, the goal is to offer well managed, quality and enriching community and multigenerational experiences for all residents of Newton.
@Beth, Let’s just focus on this for a second: “When spaces within this facility are not programmed for older adults, the goal is to offer well managed, quality and enriching community and multigenerational experiences for all residents of Newton.”
This presumes that seniors will want younger folks occupying parts of the building that happen to be vacant for some times, perhaps even adjacent to the ones we are using. Do you have information from surveys or interviews with seniors that indicate consensus on that point?
More generally, why do you think seniors want a multigenerational facility covering age groups outside of the senior population?
Beth,
Whatever the “NewCAL” vague, flowery and feel good “vision statement” language cited says, getting down to brass tacks, the vast majority of Newton residents and vast majority of Newton seniors DO NOT WANT (nor want to pay for) a general community/athletic complex as part of what they DO JUST WANT, that is, a “senior center”. And they don’t want additional funding going for, or as justification for, “multigenerational” space expanding the project beyond a senior center. (And they don’t want it in a park.)
@Beth, and do you think the Albemarle location meets the vision statement you quoted? If so, I’d be interested in what attributes of that location you think would be amenable to seniors getting there and being there.
@Paul, do you have data that older people are averse to being around people of other ages?
Right now the senior center is open 8:30-4. It would be nice to have expanded hours of service, especially as people live longer healthier lives – we are likely to still be engaged in the labor force in some capacity. A strategy to have expanded hours is to open the facility to the community when not in use for senior programming. It is also a way for the entire community to have a stake in the facility.
Personally, I am location agnostic (and know typing that is going to enrage the no NewCal in Albemarle people – sorry). The location isn’t up to me, I trust the staff and workgroup to figure it out. We need a new senior center now. It has to be large and flexible enough to accommodate the growing demand.
@Jim, what are you basing your assertion that a scaled down NewCal is desirable? (I didn’t write the vision statement so can’t take credit or blame if you find the language vague or flowery.)
Again, I encourage everyone to check the deep dive document https://newcal.projects.nv5.com/download/supporting_docs_newcal/2019-09-26-NewCAL-Deep-Dive_A-Working-Group-Members-Perspective.pdf
I think part of the problem is that this effort focused on including aspects of the facility to cater towards using the facility for the wider community rather than towards just creating a nice place for seniors. There seems to be this focus on building this huge facility rather than on meeting senior needs which might be better served in another fashion. Just because 3 people say they want a full sized gym or pool doesn’t mean you need to build it. City resources are limited so why not use available money wisely to make a nice building for Seniors and partner that with discounted or free access to programs at the Y or other existing facilities. I’m all for a Senior Center but let’s give them what they need not use a park or spend money unnecessarily on a huge facility.
So much of Marian’s vision is innovative, ground breaking in terms of senior services.
In addition to the vision, Marian addresses a few essential specific elements that would enable seniors from all over the city to remain engaged and make greater use of a senior center: “It is centrally located so that people from Ward 1 to Ward 8 know where it is and how to get there… residents take a class together… It is accessible by public transportation. It is in a vibrant village . . . “
“@Paul, do you have data that older people are averse to being around people of other ages?”
Some of my best friends are younger people. That doesn’t mean I want teenage kids bouncing basketballs down the corridor to a gymnasium when I’m taking a class or having conversations with friends or trying to read.
But you raise a good question about data, @Beth. This process has not been carried out in a way that systematically surveyed the potential users. The “listening sessions” were woefully inadequate.
Speaking of data, too, we still can’t read the minutes of all the NewCAL working group sessions even thought we’ve received promised, months ago, that they would be made available.
Look, I understand why you and others are content to let this process go forward as designed by the mayor and her folks. After all, the current senior center is inadequate, and this is your chance to get a new one. But it is also the community’s only chance to get the right one.
For another thing, you can’t be agnostic about siting. There were 7000 people citywide who signed a petition against putting this center on any parkland. There were over 800 who signed a petition opposed to the Albemarle site in particular. If you look at the current Northland referendum constituency, it will look like a drop in the bucket if Albemarle is chosen for the senior center. The best chance to achieve your objective is to help the Mayor understand that the approach she and her folks are taking is divisive, missing an opportunity to bring people together.
Options:
Take some the Webster Woods money and instead:
1. take the three homes behind the current senior center. Voila, plenty of space. Those homeowners would not be happy, I get it and I would be very upset were it me.
2. Improve and build over the Star Market Parking lot (2 or three stories)–maybe bury the parking too?; Star Market gets a new parking lot and a great customer base.
3. Bury the parking in Newton center and build 3 stories with some surface parking
Use the balance of the Webster Woods money to buy a conservation restriction for a portion of the woods from BC.
The point here is that it need not be all or nothing.
Acquisition of Newton Centre’s Citizens Bank Building is the perfect location and solution for the new Senior Center, as I’ve previously urged.
Mayor Fuller,
Have you followed up on this or approached the Citizens Bank Building’s owner? Please do that and/or let us know your thinking on this. Others here at V14 agree with this undertaking.