The Clinton Town Council has voted to appoint five people to a new committee aimed at helping seniors in Clinton, though some in the community are already questioning how effective the committee will be.

At the Aug. 19 Town Council meeting, five people were appointed to the Senior Resources Advisory Committee: Phyllis McGrath, Elizabeth Goldstein, Dolly Mezzetti, Michael Hornyak, and Shelby Auletta. The committee will have space with for a sixth member; interested parties should contact Town Hall.

The group has been given specific charges from the Town Council to determine the programming needs a senior center would need, develop a schedule that phases in senior services and costs, develop a budget that phases in senior services over five years, study the current services offered to seniors and if they can be brought into a senior center environment, and identify other efforts that might be needed to offer senior resources. The committee will provide a final report to the council in December.

In late 2018, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) formed a task force to study the needs and wants of the senior population in town. Town Council Chair Chris Aniskovich said that after that committee did a survey of the seniors in town, there was no clear path for that group to proceed. Aniskovich said that by appointing another group with expressly laid out charges and purviews, there will be a concrete path forward to try to resolve some issues that are affecting seniors.

Previous Efforts

One particular sticking point for some members of the community is Clinton’s lack of a senior center. A vocal contingent of Clinton seniors felt the previous task force from the BOS lacked a serious commitment toward developing a senior center in Clinton. In a show of their seriousness, about a dozen people attended a BOS meeting in June 2019 to make the case to the board on the need for a senior center.

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 six 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, while others believe the group is overly optimistic when it comes to how quickly the transition can be made.

Prior to the Aug. 19 Town Council meeting, Bethany Greeley and Aldea Savva, two people who were supporters of creating a senior center in Clinton in 2019, submitted a lengthy letter in support of a senior center and critical of the way the town is approaching the issue. The full letter is attached to the minutes of the meeting on the town’s website clintonct.org.

“We suggested the three counseling offices on the ground floor of the annex be relocated to other town property, such as the Indian River Rec Center or a school...From a client confidentiality standpoint, the Annex is considered the place where people getting therapy go. Having a more neutral site might well be preferable,” the letter stated in part.

In past, other people have inquired about the same move. Aniskovich stated that converting the annex is not as easy some people think it may be. The costs that would be needed for maintenance and personnel, as well as finding a new home for the Social Services Department, have been cited as reasons why the move wouldn’t be simple.

The letter also states that the two writers are upset that the council is reappointing a committee that they feel is similar to the previous committee, and took exception with the council reappointing some members who were on the previous committee.

“Last year’s task force co-chairs Phyllis McGrath and Elizabeth Goldstein publicly stated they are not supporters of a senior center. They prefer directing town residents to other services, such as the public library and the Estuary” Senior Center in Old Saybrook, the letter stated.

The letter also accuses Goldstein of having a conflict of interest because she is a board member of the Estuary Council of Seniors.

Both Goldstein and McGrath have repeatedly denied they are against a senior center in Clinton.

In a 2019 interview with the Harbor News, Goldstein stated, “We certainly support the concept of a bricks-and-mortar senior center. We don’t have an issue with a senior center and the BOS should know quite a few seniors want one.”

In the same interview, McGrath said that solely pursuing a senior center was not the mandate given to the task force; instead, the group worked to consider everything from housing concerns, to transportation needs, to the available programs for seniors.

Aniskovich also pushed back on some of the concerns Greeley and Saava expressed in their letter, namely that Goldstein had a conflict of interest.

“I don’t see her job as a conflict at all. She brings a lot of knowledge based on what she’s seen,” said Aniskovich.

In 2019, Goldstein explained the money that Clinton pays the Estuary “principally covers the cost of providing home-bound and congregate meals that are not already covered by Title III grants and client donations. In 2018 the Estuary provided meals for 11,681 seniors in Clinton alone.

Aniskovich said that this advisory committee “will come back to the council with recommendations and we’ll decide how to move on it.” Aniskovich also said that this won’t be an issue the council looks at and just drops.

“The reason we’re doing this is to get something done,” Aniskovich said.

Once the committee completes the research the council tasked to it, it will make a recommendation on what actions should be pursued to the Town Council.