The Squamish Seniors Centre Society has launched a petition asking council that the society support the creation of a strategy for seniors in the community.
This strategy, the society says, should be created before any further action can be taken on the creation of a Seniors Hub at the Westwinds building under construction on Third Avenue.
Despite months of opposition by local seniors, council voted 6-1 to take The 55 Activity Centre from the seniors and relocate them to the bottom floor of a new building on Third Avenue that won’t be constructed until mid-2022.
Herbert Vesely, a director of the society, said the seniors would like the district to hold off on any decision until it had heard from the Seniors Strategy.
“What is the big rush, after all? Staff now stated that the building owner told them they would only want a compatible group, i.e. seniors, to take this space. After all, how many seniors groups are there?” he said.
According to district’s plans, seniors will be able to rent or lease program space in the new Westwinds building.
There will be progromming for seniors, but it will not be a dedicated space for seniors.
The district has received a number of letters from seniors and locals who oppose the district’s plan to move the seniors to the new building.
Herbert Vesely said seniors would like to remain at the 55 Centre.
“We rate the Westwind facility, that was created without any input from the Advisory Committee, as inadequate to seniors needs,” he wrote.
The proposed seniors hub would have inadequate residential-type kitchen, no art room with the required sinks and storage cabinets, no sprung floor in the exercise room, and lack of storage for carpet bowling, Vesely said.
Local senior Nelson Winterburn said there needed to be a carefully planned seniors strategy where local seniors are consulted and district recreation staff work with the seniors on their needs.
“We seniors cannot forget that over $300,000 was dedicated to BUILDING the Seniors Centre through the sale of seniors land and the many thousands raised by the Tantalus Seniors Society and Seniors Branch 70,” he said.
“The new space will not be owned by the District and there will be no ownership by the seniors. With no ownership and operations provided by the home society there is no guarantee the Seniors Hub will even exist for the seniors at large in the future,” he added.
Jill Koehler, a local clinical counsellor, said the need for adequate services and facilities for supporting seniors was essential.
“Many seniors have moved to Rockcliffe with the understanding that these facilities would be available to them in this location,” she said.
Another local senior, Julie Miles, said the seniors worked hard to obtain a nice place to meet, exercise and socialize.
“The seniors who contributed greatly to creating our own space have not had use of it for long. My experience has been that the district did not adequately support our programs. Several couples I have known left Squamish because of the lack of facilities for seniors,” she wrote.
Local citizen Pauline McNeney said she would encourage council to take more time on this decision and consider a seniors strategy with community consultation.
Joy and Rick Boulier, Elzbieta Nowosielska, Jeff and Eleanor Bowcock, Thea Reardon and several other locals citizens and seniors have written to council to express their concerns with how district is moving to displace seniors without adequate consultation.
Meanwhile, district has also issued a clarification on the issue.
Roger Jeremy Duncan says
I am 77 and use the Seniors Complex often and urge thst it stsy as is with legal protection and security Roger Duncan retired lawyer and owner of 2 Squamish properties and tax payer