Town Meeting last night voted to move an $8.6 million debt-exclusion override for a new senior center to a general election some time in June.
By a two-thirds majority, Town Meeting opted for a 19,600-square-foot design over a competing 15,000-square-foot senior center at a cost of $6.975 million proposed by the Board of Selectmen.
Town Meeting member and Dedham Times reporter Hannah Heald also put forth a motion to form a 17-member study committee to address concerns about parking and operating costs for the proposed High Street facility.
Selectman Michael Butler said the scaled-back design responded to concerns among residents about the size and the $8,635,000 cost of the larger senior center.
"Before you tonight is a motion that asks you to support a smaller senior center than originally proposed, which is less expensive," said Butler.
Architects from The Office of Michael Rosenfeld, who presented the larger design, also crafted estimates for a smaller center in early May, he said.
The smaller design is "substantially the same" as the larger one, but "smaller in footprint," said Building, Planning and Construction Committee Chairman Rob Naser.
"The most difficult decision will be for the Council on Aging to decide which programs to leave out," Naser said. The building committee and the Council on Aging both offered support for the smaller design instead of a larger design they said might be voted down in a town election.
The smaller center meets the minimum recommended state guidelines for 3-to-5-square-feet per senior, Naser said, and would cost taxpayers $12.62 less per year than the larger center. The $8.6 million center would cost taxpayers $61.05 per year until 2030.
The vagueness of the smaller center, which had no architectural designs, bothered some voters. "We're being asked to appropriate $6 million for construction of a building for seniors that doesn't exist," said Edward Goodwin. "They do not have a plan for a 15,000-square-foot senior center. It isn't on the drafting board as of yet."
Other Town Meeting members said they thought it was worth it to invest in a larger senior center to reap a better return in the long run, rather than building additions to the site.
The town's senior population is going up, said Council on Aging Chairman Leanne Jasset. "Beginning in 2011, the first of 78 million baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, will begin transitioning into retirement. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, one out of every nine baby boomers will live to be at least 90 years old," she said.
One Town Meeting member said he was prepared to vote on the 19,600-square-foot plan.
"I thought the designs (for the larger center) were excellent," said Tom Connors. The smaller proposal "will meet only the minimum state standards when the baby boomer population is growing. You can't take 25 percent out of the plan and expect people to vote on it."
Town Meeting concluded last night with members passing a $74,646,236 municipal operating budget and approving the appropriation of $300,000 for a feasibility study to renovate or build a new Avery Elementary School.
The state School Building Committee deemed the High Street school one of the worst facilities in the state and has promised to reimburse nearly 50 percent of the cost of the feasibility study.
The selectmen have yet to decide when in June the election will be held.
Daily News staff writer Anna Kivlan can be reached at 781-433-8336 or at akivlan@cnc.com
