On the day of its 40th-anniversary party, plans for a $5 million new Franklin’s Active Adult Center were on display in its multipurpose room.
At the party on Friday, senior citizens rolled foam dice to win prizes, played put-put and a horse racing game, snacked on hot dogs and popcorn and conversed with their friends.
On the fringes of the party, was a wall of bookcases filled with books and DVDs, pieces of exercise equipment, a row of computers on a table and a stage set for Our Town Players’ next production. The room is the former cafeteria of Payne Elementary, a school some seniors who grew up in the area attended.
The aged brick half of the Active Adult Center was built in 1870, with the newer 40-year-old half constructed at the time the center became a place for seniors to gather. The brick building was first called the North School and was the first all-grades school built in Franklin. It was later converted to an elementary school and named for P.W. Payne, “a physician and a Christian gentleman who served on the school board at the time the school was built,” according to a historic marker for the school.
The building is cramped during the center’s popular luncheons, doesn’t have enough activity space and doesn’t have adequate restrooms or kitchen space. With 602 members, interest from local seniors outstrips the space that the center has to offer, said Chip Orner, Franklin parks and recreation director.
That’s why there is a $5 million budgetary ordinance before the Franklin City Council to build a new Active Adult Center. The ordinance was introduced Monday and will have a public hearing on Oct. 2 before going up for a vote on Oct. 16.
Why it is needed
The project includes tearing down the existing building at 160 E. Adams St. and rebuilding at the current site. The parks department looked into saving it but came to the conclusion it wasn’t feasible, Orner said.
The building needs a new roof, has HVAC that doesn’t have duct work in certain parts of the building, has some restrooms that aren’t compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and a small and outdated kitchen. Certain parts of the building also have no studs because of termite damage, Orner said.
Though there are 602 members, there are only 49 seats in the room where the center’s popular pitch-in dinners and bingo games are held, meaning the room is always packed with members. The same room holds the billiards table, which is beloved by members, he said.
Wednesdays are the biggest day of the week for the center with bingo and the weekly pitch-in. Parking is a challenge on these days and so is fitting everyone in, said Glenna Escher, Active Adult Center Manager.
There are only 36 parking spaces at the center and overflow parking is on the basketball court, Orner said.
The multipurpose room is packed with things to do but not much room to do any of them. It has a library, a fitness center, a dance floor, a stage, card tables, computers and more.
“So we have Tai Chi and chair yoga in the same room that we have the exercise equipment and they play cards. So it does get a little (crowded) — everybody doesn’t have their spaces to go to,” Escher said Friday.
The space is a challenge but the staff at the center make it work, Orner said.
“The cool thing about the staff over there is they make it work,” Orner told the city council earlier this month. “They love it. It’s a place that’s their own. And I do think the reason why we’re here today is I think we owe them better than what we currently give them.”
The center is more than a place to play games and have a meal — it is a place to meet friends and form a family. They’re there for each other in good times and bad, they volunteer together and form a unique bond, Escher said.
The center is also the home of Our Town Players and can also be rented out for events, with 49 rentals booked there so far this year, Orner said. Space for both these uses is also deficient, with only room for about 70 people to watch a play and room for only small event rentals, he said.
What members say
Bud Overstreet, an 80-year-old widower, comes for the fellowship. He typically comes in early in the morning and has a cup of coffee with his friends and plays pool, he said during the anniversary party Friday.
“It’s been helpful to me. When you live alone you need something to lift your spirits,” Overstreet said.
With how packed the center is, it’s time for a new one, he said.
“I think we’ll soon outgrow this one with the parking and everything, you know,” he said. “Another building would be nice to look at for the city and the community. … I think that’s their goal and that’s what we need.”
Kathy Miller comes to the center multiple times a week for exercise classes, sing-alongs, dinners and card playing. The expansion is vital because it gives seniors a place to stay active as they get older, she said Friday.
“Everybody’s very excited about the new building … We’ve had roof leaks and everything so old, you know? It’ll be nice to have something that’s new and bigger,” Miller said. “We’re getting new members all the time. And we old folks aren’t going away. We’re living longer and there’s more of us. It’s important to keep us active so we don’t just stay home and vegetate.”
Gloria and Ed Eaton, a married couple, come to the center to exercise, sing, see their friends and share meals with them, they said Friday.
“We’ve been retired a while and we need things to do. And this is a good place to do them. We really appreciate it. We’ve been coming here for several years,” Ed Eaton said. “There’s times I think they can use more room, especially for some of the meals.”
About the project
The project is still in the design phase but the designs are getting close to being finalized, Orner said Tuesday.
The new building’s back would face Adams Street, with the entrance to face the parking lot. This is to make it easier for seniors to get into the building from the parking lot, Orner said.
The footprint of Payne Park would also change, with the playground, benches and shelter to move locations to accommodate a larger 72-space parking lot for the center, he said.
Many parts of the building are also designed to be rentable after hours, which would bring in money for programming, Orner said. A new rentable feature would be an outdoor area with a stage that could hold small concerts, weddings or parties, he said.
Also for events, there would be a larger kitchen space, a food staging area and a pantry. The space for pitch-in dinners would grow to 108 seats from 49, he said.
Whereas activities are all crammed into one space now, there would be several rooms dedicated to different activities. There would be a dedicated space for a library and media room, a billiards room, an exercise room and a theater, Orner said.
The theater would also come with better amenities for Our Town Players, including a dressing room and more seating, he said.
The $5 million project comes with input from seniors on their current needs, while preparing for the future, Orner said.
If approved by the council next month, the project would be bid next May, with 12 to 13 months for construction. During construction, all of the programming would move to the Cultural Arts and Recreation Center, Orner said.
“I have assured them that we found a spot for them at the recreation center,” Orner said. “We can absorb all their programs that they currently have at the current rec center. So, they won’t miss a beat they’re (just) gonna go in a different location for a year.”
With the center, there are hopes to increase membership and give more local seniors a place to call their own. The new space could also boost attendance up to what they were before the pandemic, Escher said.
“For some of these seniors this is the only socialization they get,” Escher said. “Some of them come and go just as they please. But some of them come and spend the whole day and this is their highlight.”
About the funding
When the American Rescue Plan Act funds first came to the city, Mayor Steve Barnett and Orner had thought about using some of that for the project. However, it was decided that money would be better served funding sewer plant upgrades along with a renovation of Fire Station No. 21, Barnett said. Using that money for the sewer plant avoided increasing sewer rates, he said.
Instead, officials came up with the idea to cash flow the project. Based on budget projections from Jeff Peters, the city’s financial consultant, there will be more than enough in the General Fund budget to do this.
The council has spent conservatively in the last few years, while the city has continued to bring in more tax dollars from the growth of homes and businesses, Peters said.
“I took into account the budget that you have for 2024 along with the new income tax receipts that we’ve seen. You would still be, I would say, north of a 40% amount of operating cash just in the general fund. That does not account for other funds that you put aside in the Rainy Day Fund as well,” Peters told the city council Monday. “So, I feel confident that we can tell you spending this into bonds is not going to be a problem to cash flow.”
Cash flowing this project is not expected to impact the city’s bond rate or its ability to borrow in the future, he said.
Though the city could bond this project instead of cash flowing, the idea is to spend on this while working with the Franklin Redevelopment Commission to borrow for other projects down the road, Barnett said.
Some projects on the horizon are a youth sports park and a new wastewater plant east of Interstate 65, he said. Both of these projects could be done using TIF bonds from the RDC, which is essentially borrowing money based on future tax revenue.
“Each time you see one of those million-square-foot buildings go in, once you get the tax abatement to roll off of that the cash flow for loans, (it) is about a million and a half dollars a year in taxes,” Peters said.
These projects are only in the discussion stage so far, but they are future priorities, officials have said.
