CHATHAM — Pledging to bring a new senior center proposal to voters this fall, Selectmen Monday outlined a plan to find a better site for the building, even if it’s smaller than the Middle Road parcel rejected by town meeting last month. The town will issue a renewed request for proposals (RFP) from private property owners who would like to sell or potentially even lease land to the town on a long-term basis....

CHATHAM – Despite warnings that delays would escalate costs, concerns about the size and location of a new senior center led voters to reject the $6.6 million project and send it back to the drawing board on the first night of the annual town meeting. Also Monday, voters approved a zoning bylaw that will allow the creation of apartments in single-family homes, which advocates say will increase the stock of mar...

CHATHAM – The annual town meeting begins Monday at 6 p.m. at the Monomoy Regional Middle School on Crowell Road. Voters should prepare to settle in for a longer-than-usual annual legislative session covering a number of significant topics, including funding for a new council on aging facility, a controversial accessory dwelling unit bylaw, funding for a shark barrier at Oyster Pond, bans on plastic bottles and st...

CHATHAM  —  In a special meeting last Thursday, selectmen officially threw their support behind a plan to build a new senior center at a town-owned site on Middle Road.  Following a presentation by architect Joel Bargmann, the board voted unanimously to recommend passage of the town meeting article that would authorize the project, which is estimated to cost between $6.2 and $6.5 million. Responding to more...

CHATHAM — Officials last week unveiled scaled-down plans for a new 10,200-square-foot senior center proposed for town-owned land off Middle Road. But before bringing the plan to town meeting, proponents want to make sure they’ve answered questions about the cost and the location. At a public meeting hosted by selectmen Saturday, architect Joel Bargmann of the Boston-based firm Bargmann Hendrie and Archetype ...

CHATHAM — Maybe having a new council on aging at the community center site or near Volunteer Park would have allowed more interaction between seniors and young people. But in the end, selectmen heard arguments from young and old alike that a town-owned parcel off Middle Road would be the best home for a new senior center. The board voted unanimously to pursue plans for a new senior center on a wooded parcel ...

CHATHAM — Maybe having a new council on aging at the community center site or near Volunteer Park would have allowed more interaction between seniors and young people. But in the end, selectmen heard arguments from young and old alike that a town-owned parcel off Middle Road would be the best home for a new senior center. The board voted unanimously to pursue plans for a new senior center on a wooded parcel ...

CHATHAM — Searching for that Goldilocks spot that has adequate parking and a convenient location, selectmen Monday reviewed four potential sites for a new senior center. The spots – off Middle Road, near Volunteer Park, behind the community center and on the Stony Hill Road site of the current center – each have pluses and minuses. Ahead of a planned decision on Nov. 26, selectmen heard analysis by architect...

HARWICH — The new council on aging director will be a familiar face to many seniors and to those who frequent the community center. Selectmen on Monday night confirmed the appointment made by Town Administrator Christopher Clark of Emily Mitchell as the new director. Mitchell worked the front desk at the community center for more than three years before entering Cornell Law School in August 2017. After a year ...

CHATHAM – The board of selectmen has rejected pursuing private property for a new senior center. At an executive session July 2, the board declined two proposals from private property owners that were the result of a request for proposals the town put out for privately owned parcels that might be suitable for a new council on aging facility, according to a statement. “Out of fiscal prudence, the board decid...

Wilderness Sarchild, who will turn 70 in a few days, has found her own way of coping with aging: Embarking on a new career as a poet and a playwright. Her book “Old Women Talking” (Passager Books, 2017) begins with the words of an anonymous poet who writes that she doesn’t want people to think of her as “a sweet old lady.” Rather, she wants them to think “What’s she up to now?” The same can be said for Sarchil...

Imagine this: EMTs arrive at a resident’s home only to be locked outside even as they can see the resident lying on the floor helpless inside the house. That’s not a situation that anyone wants to contemplate. But putting into place two simple elements—a key box to allow the fire department to enter and the File of Life form to bring the EMS crew up to speed on the senior’s health – can save lives. Let’s sa...

CHATHAM – While there's still a lot of refining to do, options for a new senior center presented to the council on aging board Monday estimated it will cost between $7 and $10 million to build the facility. Three different size buildings, each with numerous program options – including an adult day center – based on needs assessments and demographic studies of the town's population were outlined by Joel Bargman...

CHATHAM — Though it's too early to know what it might look like, or even where it would be located, a new senior center is in its earliest design stages. Officials have hired an architectural firm to calculate how much space would be needed in a new council on aging building, and the firm will also present some conceptual floor plans to generate discussion. It remains to be seen whether the existing site on...

WEST HARWICH — There will be new faces greeting people at the Commodore Inn, but they will not be unfamiliar to many people in the community. Longtime Council on Aging Director Barbara-Anne Foley and her husband John are starting new careers as managers and innkeepers of the 27-room resort. “It's a big step, literally a dream come true,” Barbara-Anne Foley said of the decision to leave her council on aging pos...

CHATHAM – The following council on aging events are scheduled this month. Most take place at the Stony Hill Road senior center and require registration or reservations. For information or to register for a program, call the COA at 508-945-5190. Monday, Dec. 5, Holiday Extravaganza Lunch and Show, “Making Spirits Bright,” featuring Tom Madden. Noon, tickets $9. Space is limited, reservations are required. Fr...