Bill Patterson (R-Oxford) and Eric Wilson (R-Lake Orion) have a vision for the future and it’s going to take time, money and above all, cooperation, to make it a reality.
The two Oakland County commissioners gathered a group of local officials together in Pontiac last week to discuss the possibility of developing a senior and transportation center to someday serve Oxford, Addison and Orion senior citizens.
Separate senior centers with limited amenities and resources currently serve senior citizens in each community.
‘The reason we’re here is because Bill and I have had constituents come to us over the last several years about more services for our seniors in this area,? Wilson told the group.
Wilson stated he has ‘two parameters? for a multi-community senior center ? ‘no new tax increases? and ‘it’s got to be what the seniors want.?
Patterson agreed with Wilson’s statements and noted another reason he was there is because he is a senior citizen.
‘I stopped on the way in and got my senior coffee at the Burger King in Oxford,? he said.
Patterson and Wilson pointed to the North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA) as the foundation for such an endeavor.
With a fleet of vans and a minibus, NOTA provides public transportation to senior citizens free of charge in Oxford, Addison and Orion. The authority is overseen and funded by the three communities.
‘NOTA was the big catalyst for us,? Wilson said. ‘NOTA, to me, is the credibility that we have, that we can put these three communities together and it can work. That to me is the start. We can trust each other, share and have discussion.?
‘NOTA has pioneered bringing together the three communities,? Patterson said. ‘We’ve seen that it can be done.?
Patterson and Wilson are looking to the Older Persons Commission Activity Center in Rochester as a concept model for what they wish to accomplish in northern Oakland County.
At the OPC Activity Center seniors can participate in a wide variety of diverse classes and clubs, swim in their choice of two pools, play basketball, volleyball, table tennis, shuffleboard or pickle ball in the gym, workout in the weight room, or play pool on one of three tables in the game room.
The OPC center on Letica Drive was constructed with a $14 million bond issue after residents in Rochester, Rochester Hills and Oakland Township approved a 0.25-mill tax increase in 2000.
‘I would say OPC is 20 years ahead of what we’re thinking,? Wilson said. ‘But you’ve got to start thinking and planning.?
Mary Miller, director of the OPC, attended the meeting and spoke about the Rochester center’s history, amenities and popularity.
‘My vision is ? you build it, they will come,? Miller told officials. ‘And I can tell you that is true.?
‘Right now, we have about 600 people coming to our building everyday. The day we opened we had over 1,000 come in.?
At the old center, Miller said there ‘wasn’t one senior I didn’t know.? Now, ‘I don’t know half the people that walk in that building.?
She said one of the keys to OPC center’s success is the fact it’s a ‘beautiful facility that does not look like a senior center.?
‘It’s hopping and it’s exciting and it’s not what people conceive what a senior center is,? Miller said of the OPC.
‘You walk into a senior center in any one of your three communities, it looks like a nursing home,’Miller said. ‘There isn’t anybody that doesn’t walk in there (the OPC center) and say, ‘What an awesome facility.? And I say, ‘Look at the schools.? There isn’t a school in this community that isn’t as awesome as this building. And they (senior citizens) deserve it too.?
‘The seniors have built this community to what it is today. They’re the ones that got Social Security (started). They’re the ones that got unemployment (started). They’re the ones that got everything for the younger people. And they today do not have what they should have for themselves. . .I want to see seniors have what they should have today, not wait until the Baby Boomers get in there.?
Miller noted that there are ‘so many people from your communities? that come to the OPC center and are ‘really upset? they have to pay a $150 nonresident fee to use the facility and programs.
‘But a lot of them say, ‘What’s $150? That’s better than any place else I go.?
‘I’ve got one lady in Oxford that I have waivered in to the program because her total income is $7,900 (a year) and she could not afford $150. She called and asked if she could give me $10 a month. I said, ‘No, don’t give me anything. You can just come in.? How could you take $10 a month from someone who only has $7,900 a year to live on? It’s amazing how many low income people there are.?
Miller noted that OPC does not charge residents of the three communities it serves.
‘Everybody that’s a senior (age 60 and older), there’s no fee to participate,? she said. ‘Our charge is to help the low income. . .Build a building then put a fee on it, you eliminate the people you want to serve.?
Oxford Township Treasurer Joe Ferrari asked Miller, ‘When Oxford residents come to your center, what are they telling you about the services we offer??
‘You don’t offer any,? she replied.
‘They’re not happy with the senior center (in Oxford),? Ferrari asked.
‘They say they know there’s a place down there, but they smoke cigarettes and play bingo,? she said. ‘And that’s what they know about the Oxford center. I’m not saying that’s true or not, I’m saying that’s what they say about it.?
Ferrari asked if Miller’s hearing the Oxford seniors want ‘more services or programs??
‘More programs,? she said. ‘We have just tons and tons of programs (at OPC) that people can get involved in. If there’s something they want that we don’t do, we’ll probably start a program. We’ve been known to do that.?
Ferrari inquired if Oxford Township’s parks and recreation department is meeting any of those senior program needs?
‘To me, talking to people, no,? said Miller, adding the communities need to study what the seniors want in terms of programs.
Lynn Alexander, senior citizens advocate for Oakland County, noted that parks and recreation programs do a ‘wonderful job in many areas,? but she’s heard of ‘some issues in some communities? in which the senior citizens ‘become the orphan or the step-child or second-cousin with regard to funding and space.?
‘You need to be really careful and make sure seniors are considered front and center with what you’re doing,? Alexander said.
Miller told officials she’s currently working with a group that would give the three communities a piece of land upon which to build a joint senior center.
‘It would be your land,? she said. ‘It would be centrally located. But I can’t tell you where it is because I don’t know if that’s a direction you want to go in.?
Wilson said he would like to see the proposed center located in the ‘northern Orion/southern Oxford? area.
‘Something in the M-24 corridor or Drahner Road,? he said. ‘Where everyone feels comfortable driving to. Where the bulk of the population is.?
With regard to funding for a multi-community senior center, Karry Rieth, manager of the Oakland County Community and Home Improvement Division, spoke about the use of Community Development Block Grant money, which are federal dollars used to benefit low and/or moderate income residents, address slums or blighted conditions, or meet an urgent community need.
‘Seniors are presumed by HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) to be of low-to-moderate income,? Reith said.
Reith explained there are ‘many opportunities to use CDBG money in support of senior activities wether they be facilities, public services, program development, transportation programs.?
The annual allocation each community receives allows for ‘maximum local discretion? with regard to spending, she said.
CDBG money offers a ‘beautiful opportunity to approach senior services and facilities in a multi-jurisdictional approach,? Reith noted.
Reith said communities can ‘crossover? and ‘contribute funding in a pool fashion to accomplish a project for the good of many communities.?
Prior to the construction of the new OPC facility, Miller said the center was housed in a 25,000-square-foot former school building on Woodward St. purchased and renovated using CDBG monies saved over a two-year period by Rochester, Rochester Hills and Oakland Township.
Alexander noted there’s also money available at the state and federal levels. When she served as the Director of the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging, Alexander said the state approved $1 million in funding (two years in a row) for senior centers to do renovations and improvements.
At the federal level, Alexander said money for aging programs has increased ‘for the first time in years.?
Despite all the talk about OPC and funding, officials agreed it all boils down to what Oxford, Addison and Orion seniors want.
‘It really has to be what the people want, not what somebody else’s vision is,? said Orion Township Clerk Jill Bastian. Although she said she’s heard from friends that OPC is ‘nice,? whatever center ends up serving the northeastern Oakland ‘will be our facility.?
‘It won’t be an OPC,? Bastian said. ‘It will be what Orion, Oxford and Addison need. Our own unique thing.?
To find out what the seniors want, officials discussed conducting a ‘feasibility study,? whereby seniors are surveyed and included in discussions about the proposed center.
Miller said it’s very important to ask people who don’t come to the three existing senior centers ‘why they are not? there. ‘Find out why they are not participating at your centers,? she said.
She said people who already come to the center are ‘already happy? with it. ‘They don’t want anything else, they want what they have,? Miller said.
Officials estimated the cost for a feasibility study would run about $20,000. Rather than use CDBG monies or local tax dollars to pay for it, officials agreed to raise the money from private sources and donors.
‘I’d like to be able to get this done without using any of our tax dollars if possible,? said Ferrari.
Wilson noted he spoke with a representative from the United Way and the group has agreed to allocate $3,000 for a feasibility study. ‘I really appreciate that,? he said.
‘I’ve already raised three (thousand dollars), I bet I could, I know I could, raise the rest,? Wilson said.
Toward the end of the meeting, all the officials present expressed support for the idea of a multi-community senior center.
Pat Fitchena, Oxford Township trustee and interim director of NOTA, said, ‘Everyday I hear phone conversations from seniors who call for transportation. They say they love the facility at OPC and why can’t we have that here??
Edward Peters, who sits on the advisory board of the Lake Orion Senior Center, said based on research he’s found on-line, ‘senior centers enhance people’s lives by making them mentally and physically more aware and more independent.? And all of this improves health, he noted.
Peters said the business community should ‘jump aboard? the senior center idea because the seniors will have ‘more money to spend if they spend less on doctor bills.?
He said a senior center would also help the ‘sandwich generation? ? those adults caring for both kids and elderly parents ? by giving seniors ‘activities and another family to belong to,? which ‘takes some of the stress off the immediate family.?