DERBY — A new chapter in the story of what to do with the Derby Senior Center unfolded on social media Friday morning, with Mayor Rich Dziekan’s chief of staff saying the administration may talk to the Town of Orange about merging senior centers.
Members of the Derby Senior Center are frustrated at city government for not making a decision about whether the senior center should merge with a new senior center under construction in Ansonia. The Valley Indy published a story about the issue on Thursday. Click here to read it.
The senior center issue was not listed on the agenda of Thursday night’s Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen meeting, and elected officials did not answer a question about the status of the issue posed by senior center member Jan Mann, who instructed the board to “s*** or get off the pot.“
The Dziekan administration in Derby has been talking to Ansonia about merging senior centers since February 2021. The matter has been discussed in a series of closed-door executive session meetings since it involves a contract.
“You’re not going to like me because I am standing up for all the seniors in Derby,” Mann said during the public comment portion of Thursday night’s meeting, which was held on Zoom. “I’d like to know why there’s nothing on the agenda for the senior center moving in with Ansonia and, if that’s the case, why isn’t the Aldermen giving us a list of what’s been happening, what’s been going on, what’s taking (so) long,” Mann said.
However, on Friday morning Walt Mayhew, the mayor’s chief of staff, posted a comment on Valley Indy Facebook saying there might be interest from the Town of Orange about merging centers.
Mayhew did not include this information in a 400-word “senior center update” he sent to The Valley Indy Tuesday (included in full in this article) because the Orange angle presented itself after he wrote the update.
“After the publication of the update for the executive committee of the senior center, the administration learned of interest by First Selectman (Jim) Zeoli in Orange of exploring a combined center as well and I sent an email to the BoAA and Senior Center Director to see if there is interest in such an alternative. If so the administration would be happy to get additional details and pursue it,” Mayhew said.
Mayhew sent the email to the fellow Derby officials on Friday morning.
Click here for info on the Orange Senior Center.
The next meeting of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen is scheduled for June 9.
A comment from The Valley Indy's Facebook wall.
