RIBBON A ribbon cutting ceremony led by the Wauseon Chamber of Commerce took place at the newly constructed and opened Fulton County Senior Center In attendance were the Fulton County Commissioners members of the Wauseon Chamber of Commerce City of Wauseon Officials Senior Center employees local seniors and local business owners
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in Wauseon in the morning hours of Tuesday, May 14th for the brand-new county Senior Center. Located at 695 South Shoop Avenue, the center is now located on the Fulton County Health Center Campus to the south of town.
Commissioner Jeff Rupp, along with Senior Center Director Sheri Rychener, sat down with The Village Reporter and talked about the timeline of the project, how everything came to be, and what the new building offers those in the community.
The project began in earnest nearly eight years ago, when Commissioners began looking at different properties.
It was known a new building was needed, but Commissioners wanted to make sure their decision made sense when it came to fiscal responsibility and the needs of the community. At the time, nothing seemed to be the right fit.
Fast forward just a bit to 2020 and you hit the timeframe of COVID. During this time, money was sent from the government to local communities as part of relief distributions.
Fulton County received three such distributions, with each being of different amounts. The first distribution received was in the amount of $3 Million, which was to be used for things like making spaces safer for county employees, distancing, shields on desks and counters and so on.
Through this disbursement, a grant program was set up for county businesses who were able to show they were negatively impacted by COVID.
From November to December over $900,000 was given to local businesses using that money. Then the county received a third disbursement, this time in the amount of $8 million.
With the money only being able to be used on certain things, work was done to see if a new Senior Center would fall into the available categories. Thankfully, it was.
With the building being much larger and more open, there would be more spacing available for the seniors who congregate at the location.
Once commissioners received word they would use the money on a new senior center, work immediately began with an architect, which leads us to the present day, and the completed building.
This new building was able to be created without putting a levy on the ballot, or by pulling money out of Senior Center funds.
The building did come out just slightly over $8 million, but the taxpayers were not asked for a tax increase to cover the buildings cost. The vast majority of the cost was taken care of by the COVID relief funds.
For anyone who has ever been inside the previous senior center building, why an upgrade was needed could be seen. The building itself was built quite some time ago and was not made with seniors in mind at its inception.
The new building however has had the ability to know what it will be once it was finished. This ability has allowed for Commissioners to plan out every detail of the building.
Staff members are now centrally located and are no longer scattered throughout the building. Additionally, the seniors have a large area for which to socialize in, as well as to use for meals.
The kitchen is also much larger and more modern which in turn helps to future-proof the building. At this time, the Fulton County Senior Center serves 400-450 meals per day with their meal routes, as well as an additional 100-150 meals per day in person at the center. This is a total of around 500-600 meals per day.
Meals are also sent from this location to the counties satellite locations located in Fayette, Swanton, and Delta. These locations receive meals two to three times per week, depending on the location, with each also having programs and activities going on at their location.
With the new kitchen, expectations are that upwards of 1,000 meals per day could possibly be served if need be. While those numbers may not actually be seen, an increase in the current meal numbers is expected as the population continues to age.
Other food production-heavy events will also be better served by the new kitchen, including the Veterans breakfast and a possible Good Friday Breakfast. And with a new larger open space, there is hope to bring in more events for seniors, including a possible Senior Prom.
Since operations began in the new building back on May 6th, new faces have begun to appear at the center.
Director Sheri Rychener explained that this is good news and that she hopes all of the new things, both here already and yet to come, will help to settle any misconceptions of what a Senior Center is. The center is open to anyone aged 60 years old and up.
Barb Schroeder has been coming to the Senior Center for 11 years now. Barb explained that she had her own ideas of what a senior center was before she stated coming that is.
She had been in the building discussing insurance with one of the helpful staff members, when she was asked to join everyone as they ate. From that moment on, Barb explained, you’re no longer a stranger.
“Everyone is very friendly. You are a stranger for no longer than five minutes when you first come in the door. There are activities here for everyone.”
“Whether you are in a wheelchair, walker or are on your own two feet, there is stuff here for you. You just have to be brave enough to walk through the door for the first time.” Barb went on to explain that she comes to the center five days a week unless there is something else going on.
With that much time spent at the old building, Barb certainly was excited for the new building. “We waited forever for this new building. We thought a few times that this was going to be our year, but it wasn’t.”
“Finally, we got the news that this was going to be the year. It felt like thousands of years as it was going up, but it was fun to watch the cranes lift everything up.”
In addition to being a senior center, the building will also act as a cooling and warming center during inclement weather. To that end, a new generator system is being obtained through a grant to ensure the center is able to fulfill both roles.
Many opportunities, events, and social opportunities are available at the senior center. An open house will be held on Thursday, June 20th from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for the public.
Lunch for seniors will be provided at noon and Elvis may very well be in the building from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to come out and see the new Senior Center for Fulton County.
