By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — A group of residents expressed concerns during an April 10 forum about the Senior Center’s future if a Proposition 2 ½ override gets rejected later this spring.
Town Administrator Rob Dolan gave an overview of the proposed $4.65 million Proposition 2 ½ override that will be headed to Spring Town Meeting on Tuesday, April 29 to the 17 attendees in the Lynnfield Middle School auditorium. He recalled that $4 million included in the override would be used to close a budget deficit for fiscal year 2026. He said the remaining $650,000 would be used for school technology upgrades and replacements.
Dolan said the proposed $4.65 million override would result in an average annual $898.72 tax impact on a house assessed at $1,045,013. He acknowledged that the override is being discussed during a challenging economic time.
“Everyone is struggling,” said Dolan. “You can decide for yourself whether to pay more or not. You make the decisions in the town, not the Select Board or the School Committee.”
If the override fails, Dolan said the School Department’s FY26 operating budget would be cut by $3,388,698. He also said $200,000 would be reduced from the Department of Public Works’ school bus transportation program.
“The schools are my biggest concern because this is a mushroom cloud for the schools,” said Dolan in regards to the override failing. “The schools will never recover from this.”
Additionally, Dolan said $300,524 would be cut from the Lynnfield Public Library’s FY26 operating budget and the Senior Center’s FY26 budget would be reduced by $149,984.
Dolan recalled that a number of seniors expressed concerns about the center’s chef being laid off in FY26 during a recent joint Select Board-Finance Committee public hearing. As a result, he said the chef’s hours have been reduced and he will still be employed by the Senior Center if the override passes.
“We are going to do five meals a week and we are going to bring back the breakfast if this wins,” said Dolan.
Patrice Lane resident Patricia Campbell said the Friends of the Lynnfield Senior Center funds a number of the facility’s programs.
Dolan clarified that the Senior Center’s staff is funded through the town’s operating budget and is not funded by the Friends.
In response to a question from a woman in attendance, Dolan said the fees residents’ pay for the Senior Center’s programs such as exercise classes is a form of local recipients.
“There are certain things you need to charge for,” said Dolan. “The meals are pretty reasonable. The people who come in are individual contractors. We have to pay the hairdresser.”
Dolan also said, “I think the Senior Center has never fully recovered from COVID.”
“Looking at the statistics, rides are down, meals are down, participation is down and attendance is down,” said Dolan. “A lot of that is due to the winter because we had a pretty bad winter, but it is not just Lynnfield. It is happening to a lot of senior centers. Maybe we need a spark to get more people to come.”
A woman in attendance pushed back against Dolan’s statement.
“They have to limit a lot of our classes because they don’t have the room,” said the woman.
Another woman agreed.
“I can’t tell you how many people are there every single day,” the woman said. “You can’t get into a lot of the classes because they are full.”
Dolan said Director Linda Naccara informed him that the Senior Center’s participation rates are down.
“The numbers are down significantly, and we have to figure that out,” said Dolan. “The goal here is to make the Senior Center whole, and I think we can do it. We heard people loud and clear about the chef, and we brought him back. If the override does not pass, the Senior Center, the library and the schools will be significantly impacted.”
A woman who is a member of the Pomtastics said the Senior Center’s cheer team is in discussions about participating in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“But that wouldn’t happen if we didn’t have all of the staff supporting us,” she said.
Dolan said it would be awesome if the Pomtastics participates in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“I don’t want people to think this override is just for the schools,” said Dolan. “It is not. It’s for seniors, people who enjoy libraries and people who enjoy Lynnfield as a premier community that is substantially different than any of the communities around us.”
A man in attendance said there are “many, many volunteers” at the Senior Center who have built rapport with attendees. He also expressed concerns about the decline in state aid that the town will be receiving in FY26.
“I know that is what the state sends you, but we didn’t get our fair share,” he said.
Dolan said the man “made a great point.”
“If this were not to win in terms of the Senior Center, we are going to have to run a lot of the programs with volunteers,” said Dolan. “That’s the worst-case scenario, but it’s not where we want it to be.”
A woman asked how the $149,984 would be cut from the Senior Center’s budget if the override fails.
Dolan said at least three employees will be laid off from the center.
Campbell recalled that voters approved the $18 million elementary schools’ expansion project in December 2020 and the $63.5 million public safety and Town Hall project in December 2022. She also noted that Lynnfield Center Water District ratepayers approved the $20.5 million capital program in two separate votes.
“We didn’t have brown water in 1992,” said Campbell.
Dolan said in response: “It’s absolutely expensive. No one is denying that. It’s hard on all age groups, but that doesn’t make this problem go away.”