Repairing Seekonk Senior Ctr. Could Be Pricy

The Council on Aging building on Pleasant Street in Seekonk has various code violations and reversing them could cost about $100,000, Building Commissioner Mary McNeil told selectmen at their meeting Wednesday.

McNeil said the main issues were occupancy, electrics and handicap accessibility. The building's staff office room is about 750 square feet and the maximum square footage allowed for an occupant is 100 square feet. Only seven people could be in the office at any given time, pursuant to fire code regulations.

"It's probably a bit overcrowded," she said. 

McNeil said heating and cooling were both issues as the space used space heaters, which aren't allowed by regulations. She added the office also uses four air conditioners, which need four separate circuits to run, the maximum the building allows. The use of many extension cords running through the office was another issue.

"There's no room for anything else," she said.

McNeil said the cost of correcting the code violations would be in the range of $100,000, but stressed the estimate was off the top of her head.

Town voters last year approved a $2.5 million proposal to build a new senior center next to Town Hall. That project has been delayed. Selectmen voted earlier this year to move seniors to a temporary location at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Arcade Avenue. At selectmen's request, a Town Meeting vote to fund $20,000 for the move was postponed. However, the move could still be funded without Town Meeting approval through another account.

Selectman Gary Sagar said he was under the impression fixing issues at the Pleasant Street location would either be too expensive or useless, which he agreed may not be the case after McNeil provided the information.

"The whole issue that the board of selectmen acted on was that we believed [McNeil] was of the opinion that it would be shut down," he said. "I would like to state that what I'm hearing tonight is totally different from five months ago."

The board decided to wait on the issue until Selectman Bob McLintock could give his opinion. He was not at the meeting Wednesday.

Selectman Mike Brady said, "It may be that we can still fix it."