The Lynnfield Council on Aging Board of Directors discussed its next moves for the future of the Lynnfield Senior Center.
Filled with only positive news and ways to improve the center, Director Kelley Lesko noted that the Select Board is moving forward with the Council’s proposed budget of .61% and no one will have to see a change in numbers.
What residents of Lynnfield will see is a change in the center. If the budget is officially approved at the town meeting on April 13, the Senior Center will have the opportunity to renovate its floors.
“We can start with the lobby and the lounge, and then hopefully we can roll right into doing the rest of the center,” Lesko said.
Pending the official approval of their FY27 budget, the center will begin in the spring to avoid the winter salt and snow tracking in. For the lounge, they will be using luxury vinyl plank (LVP). The dependable flooring will not have to be polished and is slip-resistant. The rest of the area will be carpet squares. The squares will last a long time and be very easy to replace if damaged, and if all goes well, the center will be covered in carpeted squares in a neutral, cohesive pattern.
Residents who are familiar with the current state of the lounge in the center will know it doesn’t have the coziest environment, or at least isn’t at its full potential. Given possible floor renovations, the Council wants to revamp the floor and offer senior residents a new, comfortable space.
“My goal for the center is just to update and modernize, and we really don’t have a spot where people can just come sit and have a cup of coffee,” Lesko stated.
The new space will not be underappreciated. In fact, the 501(c) nonprofit fundraising organization Friends, which partners with the Senior Center, will be furnishing the new cafe lounge.
Donated by many of the senior residents, the establishment is able to have a thrift store that’s just down the hallway from the entrance of the building. They hold fundraisers and also pop-ups with local artists. Through January, February, and March, the newest pop-up will contain work from artist Yvonne Blacker. The pop-up will be displaying her duck petals for $10 each, and a portion of those sales will go back to Friends.
“They provide all of the extra things that we need that can’t go in our very lean budget,” Board member Anne Hourihan explained. “The Friends are a really important partner of the center.”
The thrift is a spacious room filled with all sorts of items. The shelves hold different styles of everything, including china, jewelry, scarves, gift bags, and even a rack of stylish purses. The thrift store changes seasonally. They currently have pink and red items out for Valentine’s Day.
Josie Weaver, who’s been involved with Friends for the past 20 years, shared, “I love coming here, I really do, I love being in the thrift.”
These are exciting times for the Lynnfield Senior Center and its members. The fundraising organization is always eager for more donations. If interested, the center is located at 525 Summer St.
“You can’t expect seniors to donate this stuff and then come back and buy it.” Weaver jokingly said.
