SENIOR CENTER … The following picture was taken on Thursday, February 15th, and shows the current state of construction for the new Fulton County Senior Center.
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
Construction efforts for the new senior center in Fulton County have continued through the winter. Commissioner Jon Rupp explained that crews are pretty well done with the exterior of the building, except for some additional roof and masonry work.
On the inside, drywalling is complete and painting is expected to begin within another week or two. Ceilings will then be put in along with the flooring.
As for the kitchen area, flooring in that section has already been placed down and kitchen equipment is already being installed.
The original estimate for the building to be open was around the middle of April. Construction efforts however have been running slightly behind with some additional weeks possibly being needed before opening.
“Everything is starting to come together and is looking good at this point. We look forward to the completion of the project,” said Commissioner Jon Rupp.
A groundbreaking for the new senior center took place back on May 9th, 2023. The building is located beside the Fulton County Health Center Campus, behind the Fulton County Behavioral Health Clinic, and right beside the DaVita Dialysis Center in Wauseon.
According to Senior Center Director Sheri Rychener, the new building will be much better for the community than the current one that the center resides in now.
“I think that this has been a long time coming. We have had to be creative in our current facility in order to make our operations work on a daily basis.”
“Having everyone on one floor will be better for everyone and will allow us all to better work as a team. It also gives us the room we need to grow,” said Rychener.
The current senior center serves approximately 500-600 seniors daily through its meal program, with another 200-300 being served in other ways.
Several programs are also available to seniors at the center, with many of them being continued at the new building once construction is complete.