By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The building used to house senior citizens services in Bowling Green is a senior itself. And like anything elderly, the 102-year-old structure is showing its age and facing some costly repairs to keep it functioning.
Earlier this year during a city strategic planning meeting, it was noted that major structural repairs are needed at the Wood County Senior Center, which the city leases to the Wood County Committee on Aging for $1 a year.
But while the rent is cheap, the repairs are not. Many city officials were not aware of any contract holding the city responsible for repairs, but learned the city had always just done the work.
However, the long-standing lease agreement for the senior center does state the city is responsible for “major maintenance requirements,” including repairs to the roof, boiler, furnace and electric system. The agreement holds the Wood County Committee on Aging responsible for “minor building repairs,” such as general maintenance and upkeep including interior painting.
So city officials are looking for someone to share the costs of the senior center, which started out as a post office in 1914 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. And the most natural place to look for help is Wood County, since the senior center serves residents of the entire county not just Bowling Green.
“We would like to have a discussion with the county commissioners,” said Bowling Green City Council President Mike Aspacher. “We would like to have that discussion to figure out if we can work together to do what the building needs.”
However the Committee on Aging’s six satellite sites in North Baltimore, Pemberville, Perrysburg, Rossford, Walbridge and Wayne are also open to any older residents of the county, and rely on community partners, according to Denise Niese, executive director of the Wood County Committee on Aging. None of those communities are objecting to the expense, she said.
“We could not do what we do throughout the county without support of the communities,” Niese said.
None of the senior sites are owned by the committee and all are supported by the communities in which they are located. Many are housed in churches or municipal buildings, with the committee on aging paying a small user fee.
“It works because of partnerships,” Niese said. “They feel it’s supplying a service for the local constituents.”
Aspacher said the city has no intention of breaking its agreement with the senior center – but tweaking it to make it more reasonable for the city.
“The city is certainly grateful for the opportunity to support that facility. We certainly aren’t shying away from the agreement,” he said. “It’s our goal to work collaboratively with the county and the commissioners.”
Last year, the city spent $7,120 on roofing repairs to the building. Now ceiling repairs are needed, which range from $12,700 to $23,300 depending on the extent of the repairs, according to Joe Fawcett, assistant municipal administrator.
“It’s an aging building and the costs are increasing, which ultimately affects the city,” Fawcett said. The lease agreement was first entered into in 1981. “It has been virtually unchanged since then.”
Yet during that same time period, the city has seen its funding from the state slashed, he said. So city officials are taking a closer look at where its money is going.
Wood County Senior Center at 305 N. Main St., Bowling Green.
“As the city looks at its revenues and expenditures, it’s no secret the revenues have been whittled away at the state level,” Fawcett said. “This is one of those expenses that needs to be examined.”
Wood County Administrator Andrew Kalmar said the city has not yet approached the county commissioners about sharing in the building costs at the senior center. “No one has ever come to us,” he said.
Until a proposal is made, it would be “premature for the commissioners to comment,” Kalmar said.
Joe Stainbrook, director of fiscal and facility operations for the committee on aging, said the senior center pays for many building expenses on its own, such as carpeting, painting and a new vinyl floor in the dining room costing about $15,000.
As far as the new ceiling in the dining room, Stainbrook said the senior center offered to help. “We would buy the ceiling tiles, if they can handle the installation.”
The senior center has $40,000 left from last year to spend on building improvements. “Each year we plan for major things. Sometimes we need it, sometimes we don’t,” Stainbrook said.
The Wood County Committee on Aging is supported by a countywide levy, which collects about $2 million and makes up about 65 percent of its budget. The 0.7-mill levy is up for a renewal this November.
Though the senior center in Bowling Green, at 305 N. Main St., is aging and was built for an entirely different purpose, Niese said the site works well. The center averages 75 to 100 people each day for programs, plus 65 to 95 for lunch.
“This building works. This building is a good location,” she said.
