By Stephen Tait
NEWBURYPORT — As it heads toward a vote of the City Council on Monday, the proposal to build a senior center at Cushing Park appears to be crumbling.
The council's Planning and Development Committee Tuesday voted 2-1 to recommend to the full council that it reject a proposal from Mayor John Moak to change the use designation of park, which is officially classified a parking lot, to one that can also be used for a senior center.
"I think we certainly have an uphill battle," Moak said, but added that he will hold out hope the full council approves the proposal because "I believe very strongly that our seniors deserve an opportunity to have a senior center."
Under Moak's plan, which he started pushing for during his first term, a senior center would take up some of the parking lot at the site but save the playground and basketball court.
Many neighbors complained that the plan would ruin the dynamic of the neighborhood while also sacrificing parking that is used during the winter during snow emergencies. Some argued children learn to ride bikes in the parking lot.
Many seniors advocated for the site, not only for its benefits but because many of them have waited years — if not decades — for a senior center to be built. In all cases so far, efforts have been derailed for any number of reasons.
Moak said that the Cushing Park site has been explored for 15 years by a committee charged with finding a location.
"I still believe it is the very best place for a senior center," he said.
"What I'm really upset about is that it doesn't give the seniors a lot of hope, and we need to change that," he said.
Councilor Ed Cameron, the chairman of the committee, cast the lone vote in favor of the proposal.
"I think the neighborhood impacts can be managed so that we could have an improved public space both for the neighbors and for the seniors across the city," Cameron said. "To me it is an underutilized space, and I don't see it used that much. The playground gets a ton of use, and that would remain. The basketball court gets use, and that would remain with improvements."
A major point of contention among neighbors is parking during snowstorms. The parking lot is often filled with vehicles during snow emergencies, during which parking on streets is prohibited. But Cameron said that problem could be managed since many of the spaces would remain.
"What parking we would lose, we could find ways to manage that," he said. "If we can send a man to the moon, we can manage that parking situation."
Councilor Kathleen O'Connor Ives said she thinks the city needs a senior center to replace the current one at the Salvation Army. But she said since the need is urgent, the mayor's plan doesn't meet it soon enough.
"I don't believe the Cushing Park plan would address the issue quickly," she said.
Ives said it could be years before it is built since a funding source is not yet secure. She said she would rather look to other locations, including buildings already owned by the city.
Furthermore, she said putting the center at the park is "controversial" and "divisive" among the neighbors, "and if we could avoid that, I'd like that, too."
Councilor Barry Connell, who also voted against the proposal, could not be reached for comment.
Cameron said a vote could come Monday from the full 11-member council, where a two-thirds vote is needed to change the designation. A vote in favor of changing the designation would not mean a senior center at the park is imminent. City officials would still have to find funding. Moak has pushed for Cushing Park as a place for the senior center for three years. He says it is a viable option since the city owns the land, there is parking and it is centrally located.
The mayor says a designation of space is necessary so the city can move forward on plans and start raising money to pay for the building, which is estimated to cost about $5 million.
In the case of the new library, for instance, Moak said the city raised $2.5 million in private donations once a plan was set.
"That is the kind of impetus you can get when you finally have a plan," Moak said. "And that is what we don't have today."
But Moak said he is holding out hope.
"Do we have a chance for it Monday night? It is slim," Moak said. "But I'm certainly interested to see how people vote. I just want to see the vote. I want to see who supports it and who doesn't vote for it. It will sort of help us in our determination of what we can do."
Moak said if the proposal were voted down, he would look to other options, mostly "because I'm totally convinced that the seniors need a central location for their services."
