by Kate Shunney
After nearly a year of uncertainty about the operations and services being offered at Paw Paw’s Senior Center, the Senior Life Services of Morgan County has set a public comment meeting on Monday, October 26 about closing the facility.
The meeting will take place at 2 p.m. the headquarters of Senior Life Services of Morgan County, located at 106 Sand Mine Road, Suite 1 in Berkeley Springs.
Senior Life Services operates the Paw Paw Senior Center as an activity and nutrition site in the bottom floor of the Mountaineer Community Health building on Winchester Street.
The center has struggled to attract enough participants in their lunch program and other offerings to justify the expense of keeping the center open and employ a cook for hot lunches, senior center officials have said for many months.
Last year, Senior Life Services said they would make the Paw Paw center a nutrition site where meals would be dropped off rather than prepared hot. That proposal was met with staunch opposition from the community.
A renewed volunteer effort to add classes and events at the center have increased participation among older citizens, say community organizers.
Mountaineer Community Health leases the space to Senior Life Services for a nominal fee, and the Town of Paw Paw has tried to assist with expenses by reducing utility fees to the center.
Despite those efforts, the future of the senior center remains uncertain.
The Town of Paw Paw has considered an ordinance that would allow the municipal government to serve some role in operating a senior center in the town. That measure has not become official yet. A meeting among townspeople and Paw Paw elected officials was set for Tuesday, October 13 ahead of the Senior Life Services Public Comment meeting on October 26.
Senior Life Services will accept written comments from those affected by the proposal from today, October 14 through October 26. Those comments may be sent to Senior Life Services of Morgan County, Inc., 106 Sand Mine Road, Suite 1, Berkeley Springs, WV 26511 or by email to seniorlifeservices@slsmc.org.
The notice for the public comment period invites “Paw Paw meal recipients, community residents, family members, caregivers, and other interested parties” to offer their input.
