To find ways to connect with and help senior citizens in Clinton, the Town Council is planning to appoint a taskforce to help tackle the many issues seniors face.

The latest census data shows that more than 2,300 (or about 18 percent) of Clinton’s residents are aged 65 or older. Despite being a substantial portion of the town’s population, there is a contingent of that population that feels the town does not take adequate measures to best serve their needs. Many senior citizens report traveling to other towns to use their programs and senior centers due to a perceived lack of programming in Clinton.

Finding better ways to address the senior citizens has become a frequent topic of discussion in town over the last several years. In 2018, the town’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) appointed a since-disbanded taskforce to identify issues that affect the town’s senior residents. As a first step in that process, the task force conducted a survey to gauge the needs and interests of the that population. The task force presented the findings of that survey to the BOS in July 2019.

The survey indicated that affordable housing in town and the lack of a senior center were major long-term needs that would need to be addressed. The survey also concluded that an increase in communication and outreach were needed.

Now, the Clinton Town Council is once again taking up the issue. At a Town Council meeting on March 18, Council Chair Chris Aniskovich said that he and Town Manager Karl Kilduff had recently spoken with members of the Estuary Council of Seniors, a regional Old Saybrook-based organization that works in a variety of ways to support seniors in the towns of Chester, Clinton, Essex, Deep River, Killingworth, Lyme, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, and Westbrook.

Aniskovich said that the town needs to find more answers about what kinds of programs are needed and that can be provided.

“We have to show we care, that we’re involved,” said Aniskovich.

The council is discussing the possibility of appointing a new taskforce on the subject. The council decided to further discuss the specific directives and timelines a taskforce would need to meet and who would serve on the taskforce.

Helping seniors in Clinton is no simple matter, in part because seniors have varied needs and are not a monolithic group.

Phyllis McGrath, one of the co-chairs of the previous taskforce, told the Harbor News in 2019 “We’re looking at a diverse population. We’re looking at seniors with financial concerns and some who don’t have any, [and at] seniors who want to interact with seniors and some who want multi-generational interaction.”

The debate over whether the town should build a senior center is yet another complicated sticking point.

Angry with what they felt was lack of commitment from the previous taskforce toward developing a senior center, a group of about a dozen attended a BOS meeting in June 2019 to make its case to the board.

The group had a solution in mind: using the Town Hall Annex, located next to the Town Hall, as a senior center. When the Town Hall Annex was renovated more than five years ago, there was talk about using the space for senior residents, however that never materialized.

The building currently houses the town’s Social Services and Information Technology departments. Those in favor of the center argued that a conversion to a senior center could be done easily.

Members of the taskforce in 2019 denied that they were against bringing a senior center to Clinton, but stated it was a long-term project that was outside their purview. The taskforce members also pointed out that there would be significant costs associated with running a center and relocating departments from the annex.

Some members of the public have inquired about using the empty Abraham Pierson School for a senior center, but there are no concrete plans for the future of the building at this time. In spring 2019, the town discovered that the deed for the sale of the building from The Morgan Trust to the Town of Clinton in 1953 states that the premises must always be used for the education interests of the residents. The town has been in contact with the Office of the State’s Attorney General about possibly changing that provision. It’s likely that process will need to be finished before a future use for the school is determined.

Speaking at the March 18 meeting, Aniskovich said that building a senior center would be a three- to five-year project and that there is work to be done in the meantime.

“We need to step back from that talk and go after what they really need and what they really want right now,” said Aniskovich.

As an example, Aniskovich said the town should find out if seniors are leaving Clinton for programs in other towns because the town isn’t providing enough resources for them, or because they have already had friends and connections in those towns with whom they want to socialize.

Some wonder whether seniors are unaware of the programs currently offered in the town. Council member Christine Goupil suggested that an internal meeting between different departments such as Parks and Recreation, the library, and the Human Services Department should be held to make sure each department understands all of what is being offered to seniors in towns, across departments. Aniskovich said that members from the estuary will attend a future Town Council meeting to correct misconceptions about what it does and doesn’t offer.