Senior Center seeks financial help

ASHTABULA -- The burden of maintaining two buildings last year has put the Senior Center in a precarious financial situation, according to the Ashtabula County Council on Aging.

With an annual operating budget of $240,000, the Senior Center operates five days per week, serving dozens of area seniors with hot meals, help paying for prescriptions, social activities, support groups, holiday events, help with tax preparation and more. Wages totaling $86,000 for eight employees is part of that budget.

"The two buildings really strapped us," said Lisa Bruckman, acting director. "We are trying to climb out of a hole."

In April 2013, Ashtabula businessman Kenneth Kister donated a former bank building at 4148 Main Ave. for use as a senior center, but the Senior Center remained in the former Shea's Theater, 4632 Main Ave., until last summer because of financial difficulties. Kister also donated his time and materials to complete the renovation so the move could be made by a grant deadline.

"To continue to provide many of our invaluable services to the elderly citizens of Ashtabula County, the Ashtabula County Council on Aging must raise at least $75,000," said Ann Wiley, president of the Ashtabula County Council on Aging. "While significant, $75,000 pales in comparison to the Senior Center's value to the lives of our elderly citizens."

While Kister's donation was generous, the Ashtabula County Council on Aging is having difficulties keeping afloat, Bruckman said.

The Council on Aging received a $247,000 grant to renovate the building, but it took an additional $50,000 to move the Senior Center out of the old Shea's Theater building.

Volunteers helped the center move to the new building this past September.

The Council on Aging owns the Shea's building and continued to pay utilities over the winter just so the pipes wouldn't freeze, Bruckman said, noting that now the utilities are all shut off. She could not give a dollar amount on the cost of utilities over the winter.

To raise money, the Council on Aging has established a Giving Wall. Individuals who give $50 (Bronze Donation) or $100 (Silver Donation) will have their name or organization engraved on a plate, attached to a plaque and mounted on the Giving Wall as a "Senior Center Supporter."

Anyone who donates $250 (Gold) will have his or her name or organization engraved on a plaque shared with one other donor and mounted on the wall.

Folks who donate $500 (Platinum) will have his or her name or organization engraved on his or her own plaque and mounted on the wall.

The donations make up the difference between a $240,000 budget, and the Senior Center's sources of income:

--$65,000 from the five-year, .3-mill Ashtabula City Senior Center levy, which for more than a decade, voters have approved and renewed for the center's transportation program and general operating expenses, according to the Ohio Department of Aging.

Ashtabula City Council unanimously agreed in March to place the levy on the ballot as a renewal in the November election. The levy is scheduled to expire Dec. 31, 2015.

"Without the renewal, the center would not be able to operate," Bruckman said.

A levy for the Senior Center was first put on the ballot in November 2001, with proceeds allowing the center to maintain services and facilities for senior citizens, according to city records. The levy allowed the center to expand its services and programs at the old Shea's Theatre building.

--$118,000 from the county, including funding from a county-wide senior services levy.

--Fundraising, such as the Garage Sale Bonanza, a golf outing and Bill Pay (seniors pay their bills at the center and the center gets money back).

--Donations.

People wishing to give to the center should mail their donation to the Ashtabula Senior Center, Attn: Giving Wall, 4148 Main Ave., Ashtabula, OH 44004. For more information, call Bruckman at 440-998-6750.

By the numbers

$240,000 Senior Center's annual operating budget

$86,000 Total wages for eight center employees

$65,000 Annual amount generated from a five-year, .3-mill Ashtabula City Senior Center levy

$75,000 Amount the Council on Aging says the center must raise to keep providing full services

Visit the Star Beacon (Ashtabula, Ohio) at www.starbeacon.com

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