A conceptual drawing of the new Ansonia Police Department, currently under construction at 65 Main St. A senior center will be housed within the structure.
DERBY-ANSONIA — Discussions are underway between the governments in Ansonia and Derby about merging the city’s senior centers.
A public forum on the idea has been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 16 at the Ansonia Armory.
The plan, which hasn’t been finalized, would see Derby close its senior center on Main Street and its members move to the new Ansonia Senior Center, which is currently under construction at 65 Main St., in a building that will primarily serve as the new headquarters for the Ansonia Police Department.
The negotiations, as of last month, had Derby paying somewhere around $300,000 up front that would go toward the construction of the new senior center in Ansonia. The two cities would then split the operational costs of the combined senior center going forward.
The legislative bodies in both cities would have to approve any agreement.
Derby Mayor Rich Dziekan met in executive session with the city’s legislators on the matter May 13. Executive session meetings are closed to the public and are allowed under certain circumstances. City officials said the May 13 executive session complied with state open meeting laws because the discussion involved a contract.
Before the executive session, the mayor discussed the matter in public with the Aldermen/Alderwomen.
Dziekan said he hoped to recoup any money Derby lays out by selling the building at 293 Main St. which currently houses the Derby Senior Center.
Dziekan, along with Derby Senior Center Director Christine Sonsini, said the Ansonia senior center will allow more programming opportunities for Derby seniors.
Sonsini said the current Derby senior center building is a challenge for seniors because it is multi-leveled. The layout of the building limits programming. In addition, Sonsini said seniors have to park at the Derby municipal parking garage up the road from the center and walk to Main Street.
A combined senior center would be better, Sonsini said, and possibly open up more grant opportunities than Derby gets alone.
Dziekan said he and city officials met with the Derby senior center’s executive board May 12 along with Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti, Ansonia Corporation Counsel John Marini, and Ansonia Economic Development Director Sheila O’Malley to talk to Derby seniors about the idea. Diekan said the feedback was positive.
Dziekan also said the city could save money on salaries moving forward, estimating that Derby, after the initial, upfront investment, could spend $125,000 annually on the senior center budget after combining with Ansonia, as opposed to the $250,000 annually the city is spending today.
“Ansonia is in the process of building a senior center. We are looking for a potential to combine both senior centers, combine the staff, going from two directors to one,” Dziekan said May 13. “So the staff will be half. Get everybody out of our Derby center. Ansonia’s center is going to be one level for them. Covered garage. Elevator to get up there but once they’re there, more rooms, they could have more activities. They were very interested and very excited for the potential. A lot of the seniors are dual memberships for Ansonia and for Derby.”
The two cities have been talking about combining senior centers for more than a decade. This is the furthest talks have progressed.
In an interview Thursday, Marini and Josh Shuart, president of the Ansonia Board of Aldermen, said it makes sense to explore regionalization options, especially if it saves money for both communities and creates more programming options for Derby and Ansonia senior citizens.
The construction of the new police station at 65 Main St. is costing about $15 million, Marini said. In 2016, Ansonia voters approved borrowing $510,000 to relocate and refurbish a new senior center. The cost of the project has increased since then, and the plans to build it changed, Marini said.
“The total cost of the senior center will encompass both the standalone senior center budget, and funds from the main 65 Main Street budget (there is some overlap),” Marini said. “All together, the senior center is likely a $700,000 project in total.”
Marini said Ansonia hopes to hammer out an agreement that will see Derby pay for half of the construction costs for the senior center.
An exact dollar amount is being negotiated. Marini said a regional senior center could be a positive.
“For Ansonia, it also means more people in our downtown. It means more people in the heart of our revitalized Main Street, so that is a benefit to us,” Marini said.
Derby’s law firm is Marino, Zabel & Schellenberg, where Marini is employed. So Derby will be using Richard Buturla, of Bercham Moses, as counsel on the negotiations. Buturla is Seymour’s corporation counsel.
A deal could be reached relatively quickly, as Ansonia anticipates opening its new senior center in September.
Marini said part of the discussion includes the creation of a new board with residents from both cities to oversee the combined senior center.
“We still have to hear back from Derby, and, of course, our Board of Aldermen will have to take this up in earnest,” Marini said.
