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Madison Senior Services and Beach & Rec Departments Could Combine by Next Year

A potential revamping or combining of some town departments will almost definitely be limited to just Beach & Recreation (B&R) and Senior Services this year, according to First Selectman Peggy Lyons, with any more expansive changes likely to wait until next budget cycle.

Lyons said the town is “really excited” to begin talking about combining the aforementioned two departments, which was an opportunity that was created by some retirements among town staff.

She said though details are still being worked out, the town has imagined the new department as looking somewhat like Guilford’s, which runs its Parks & Recreation services very closely alongside senior services, with some overlap in space and programs.

“You need to have a special focus, especially for the seniors. We don’t want seniors to feel as if they’re losing some support or resource, because that’s not what’s happening here,” Lyons said.

Many of the town’s seniors have been signing up for B&R programs like pickleball, according to Lyons, and staff has seen an overlap generally in participation between senior programs and B&R offerings.

“I think the team here thought we should be stepping back and making great programs that might be attractive to active seniors, and then figuring out where they should be located rather than having the Senior Center as a silo,” Lyons said.

Again, that doesn’t mean that any of the popular programs mostly utilized by older residents will be marginalized or canceled, according to Lyons, but instead will be able to exist alongside other programs that might also appeal to seniors.

Lyons also said there was a potential cost savings and efficiency to be created, with the town currently using two completely different software programs for registrations, and physical spaces that likely could serve both seniors and more diverse offerings for the town.

These changes will be rolled out this year, likely in the summer following the retirements. Lyons said that any other “major reorganizations” would wait until the following budget cycle next fall and winter, though she did add there were more opportunities for these kinds of restructurings.

“When you look at how town government is organized sometimes, on a functional basis, I kind of scratch my head,” she said. “We’re going to be reviewing all that and thinking about all that.”