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01/13/2021 11:00 PMFollowing a December 2020 report on the needs of seniors in Clinton, the Town Council voted unanimously on Jan. 6 to establish a job for a senior program coordinator to be included in the 2021-’22 budget. Town Manager Karl Kilduff was instructed to draft a job description for the new position.
In August 2020, the Town Council appointed Shelby Auletta, Michael Hornyak, Ethelene DiBona, Elizabeth Goldstein, Phyllis McGrath, and Dolly Mezzetti to the Senior Resource Advisory Committee. The committee was charged with helping determine the needs of seniors in Clinton and to report back to the council by December. On Dec. 16, the committee handed in its report to the council, which decided to take in the recommendations from the report and decided its course of action at its Jan. 6 meeting. Town Council Chairman Chris Aniskovich told the Harbor News that the committee will be formally disbanded at the next council meeting.
At the meeting, the Town Council adopted the most immediate recommendation of the committee, which was to create a position for a part-time senior programming director in the next budget. The director would work under the town manager to coordinate and be a point person for all programs meant to serve senior population. The committee recommended that the director would have an office in town and would work Monday to Friday.
During a discussion on the new position, the council briefly debated to whom the new position would report: the town manager, the Parks and Recreation Department, or the Human Services Department. Ultimately, the council decided to have the position report to the town manager due to the budgetary implications the position could have.
“As we go down the road, any actions recommended to be done will have a budget impact, so it’s good to keep the town manager in the loop,” Aniskovich explained to the Harbor News after the meeting.
During the discussion at the meeting, council member Dennis Donovan said that while he was in favor of the position, the council should consider calling the new job “program coordinator” since it’s a part-time position and there is a union specifically for directors of other department heads from the town and having a department director who is part time could “create confusion.” The recommendation was adopted.
The committee’s recommendation for the new position was the most immediate recommendation, but there were others from the committee, too. The report asked that a board or commission to be created that would specialize in senior needs and could advise the town on the steps needed to implement programs aimed at seniors or issues facing the group. The group also asked for the council to consider making “incremental” and “informed” steps to bring a physical senior center to life.
Aniskovich said the Town Council would need to take small steps toward each goal. The formation of the commission would be done by ordinance.
The creation of a senior center is a trickier issue and one that will take patience, according to Aniskovich.
“I don’t want people to think a brick-and-mortar senior center isn’t in the plans but there is a financial commitment we have to take into consideration,” Aniskovich said.
When Clinton’s lack of a senior center has been discussed over the last two years, some have suggested using the Town Hall Annex, located next to the Town Hall. The building currently houses the town’s Social Services and Information Technology departments. Those in favor of the center have argued that a conversion to a senior center could be done easily, but Aniskovich does not believe that to be the case.
“It’s not as easy as take over the annex and that’s the senior center. There’s a lot of moving parts,” Aniskovich said.
In addition to the costs of creating the senior center, Aniskovich pointed to the maintenance of the center and then the costs of whatever programs will be offered there as other costs that need to be considered.
“That will sort of be the program directors’ job,” Aniskovich said.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the new position as senior programs manager.