An illustration of the new Ansonia Police Department.
DERBY — While Republican Mayor Richard Dziekan has made his support for merging Derby and Ansonia senior centers publicly known, his Democratic counterparts are cautioning him to pump the brakes.
During the June 24 meeting of the Derby Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen, some Democratic Aldermen/women, along with the chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, pushed back on a possible merger, urging the Dziekan administration to not make an decision until gathering more information.
They also requested a public forum on the idea be held in Derby.
Dziekan’s administration and Mayor David Cassetti’s administration in Ansonia recently unveiled plans to merge senior centers. Ansonia is in the final design phase of building a new, 22,000 sq. ft. senior center downtown in the same building where a new Ansonia Police Department is currently under construction at 65 Main St.
Both Dziekan and Cassetti advocated hard for the merger at that forum, citing significant cost savings and the ability to offer many more programs and state-of-the-art space for seniors in both communities.
The issue seems to have bipartisan support on the Ansonia Board of Aldermen (Cassetti is a Republican, as is Dziekan). Derby’s senior center director has said it will expand programming opportunities for Derby seniors.
But Derby Democrats are pushing back on the plan, as is the Ansonia Police Union, whose officers are worried about safety.
Any agreement between the two cities would have to be approved by both Boards of Alders in both cities.
Ansonia, according to its Corporation Counsel John Marini, is moving ahead with the center, regardless of what Derby decides.
“We are very excited about the potential for Derby’s participation, but the project will move forward regardless, with the same layout and floor area,” Marini said in an email to the Valley Indy Tuesday. “This is just a fantastic space for our seniors, and we are eager to see the completion of the project this fall.”
Derby’s share of the approximately $700,000 senior center would be about $300,000. If the merger were to happen, both cities would split the operational costs of the combined senior center going forward.
Derby Aldermanic President Joe DiMartino, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for mayor, said before any decisions are made by the administration, more information needs to be shared, and Derby seniors’ voices must be heard.
“We understand there’s a lot of frustration on the part of our senior citizens due to the lack of information,” DiMartino said. “We share that concern and want them to know we are here to represent the senior citizens of Derby and will do that in a deliberate and transparent way.”
While a public forum on the concept was held in Ansonia June 16, DiMartino believes Derby’s voice was not fully represented.
“We want to hear all the concerns of the users of the senior center and be sure their voices are heard,” DiMartino said. “We will not tolerate the seniors being pushed by elected officials or staff on any matter.”
DiMartino and others have called for another public forum between both towns to ensure all questions and any concerns about a possible merger can be aired.
Derby’s City/Town Clerk Marc Garofalo said Tuesday both towns are working to schedule a meeting.
Marini said Ansonia is “very willing to participate and discuss the project further.”
Aniello Malerba, leader of the Derby Democrats, also urged for another meeting, and questioned whether the city’s leadership is trying to push the merger through whether seniors want to or not.
“When elected, you are called upon to represent the needs and the will of the residents of the City of Derby, not politicians from another municipality,” Malerba said.”In the spirit of bipartisan transparency, before any action is taken, we need to have information and more discussion at a public session.”
Dziekan, on Tuesday, said he has nothing but the seniors’ best interests at heart.
“The merger of a Derby/Ansonia Senior Center would save both cities money by cutting the staff in half,” he said. “We would be offering more activities for our seniors on a daily basis, where now each activity has to share a room in Derby. The new senior center in Ansonia will be brand new, with ample parking next to the police department. Security would be great. I’ve spoken to many seniors regarding this and they are excited about the merger. There are some concerns, but we’re looking into that and working on that.”
Derby Alderwoman Barbara DeGennaro, a Democrat, expressed concern about how the center would be funded.
“As far as the possibility of a joint senior center with Ansonia, my first concern is where is the city getting the money to do this now and in the future?” she said.
Dziekan has said previously the $300,000 upfront cost would be recouped by selling the current Derby senior center building on Main Street.
“We own that building, and I would love to sell it seeing how it’s in the middle of our redevelopment zone,” Dziekan said “It’s a total win-win for both cities and our seniors.”
DeGennaro suggested the board consider an alternate location in Derby, like the Oponiak Property on Sodom Lane, which she said has restricted uses and costs associated for renovation.
Shirley Erickson, chairwoman of Derby’s elderly commission, said while she understands the benefits of a combined senior center, she’d prefer it to stay here.
“Ideally the senior center should be a freestanding, one-level building with ample parking spaces in a non-congested area,” she said. “Having a senior center located on a busy street in a highly traveled area with a questionable amount of parking and being shared with a police department is not an ideal site.”
Erickson added that a possible senior center merger, along with the potential for Ansonia and Derby schools to regionalize-another issue currently being vetted by both cities- could cause Derby to “lose our identity.”
Derby Senior Center Director Christine Sonsini had 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, seniors have to park at the Derby municipal parking garage up the road from the center and walk to Main Street.
The proposed center in Ansonia would be laid out on one floor, with a 3,000 sq. ft. Bingo hall/large community room, a kitchen, arts and crafts room, computer room, card room and several multi-purpose rooms. The seniors would also have full access to a 3,100 sq. foot gym shared with the police.
Project Managers James Tenner and Stephen Spellman of Tenner Contracting, based out of New York, said the building has been designed with safety in mind, and having the police in the same building as the seniors is a plus.
Ansonia officials anticipate a fall opening for the new senior center.
