Trustees approve recreation, senior center merger

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — The Clinton Township Board of Trustees approved a merger of the township’s Recreation Department and senior center operations at its Dec. 22 meeting.

Approved unanimously amid a packed board chamber at the Robert J. Cannon Civic Center, the merger aims to reduce the costs of running the departments as separate entities. The plan for the merger as developed by professional services firm Plante Moran would be to create the “Senior and Family Recreation Department” run by a single managing director while two assistant directors would respectively manage activities associated with the former Recreation Department and the Clinton Township Senior Adult Life Center. The move is expected to save the township $203,000 per year and bring the operation of its senior and recreation activities in line with how they are handled by surrounding communities.

“The intent is to create a streamlined (department),” Township Supervisor Paul Gieleghem said. “One director, assistant director of each unit. We did something similar with public works, public services and the Water and Sewer Department and when we did that, we found there were a great many administrative efficiencies that could be created … Our intention is to streamline the administration, maintain the departments as close to what they are but figure out how we can expand opportunities to provide more services, possibly keep the facility open longer than just 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.”

One change made between the final approved agreement and the document included in the meeting packet was to prioritize internal hires, bringing that process in line with the township’s policies and providing a layer of security for current employees.

“I think it’s important to prioritize the people, the employees that work for us (and) already have that commitment to our community,” Township Clerk Kim Meltzer said. “They should be honored and respected and allowed to apply for those positions, should they wish to have them, first.”

One of the biggest issues the merger will face is the possible expanded use of the senior center gym, which was built with federal funds that restrict its use to be a senior-only space. Gieleghem mentioned that the gym has been used for elections and other township activities in the past.

While changes to programming are not the intended focus of the merger, Gieleghem said he was not going to guarantee the new department’s program offerings will be exactly the same as what has been offered in the past.

“I am going to guarantee you there’s never going to be a change? Absolutely not. I would never guarantee you that,” Gieleghem said. “If you are a member of the senior center and have been a member for a long time, you’ve witnessed changes. I can tell you what our intent is, but my job is not to run the senior center, and my job is not to run the parks and recreation department … This board hires people to do that, that are far better at it than we are.”

Across two public comment periods, members of the public spoke with six being squarely in favor of the merger and seven against the merger. Recreation Department Director Brian Kay was the last person to speak before the vote, thanking people for providing their comments.

 

Other meeting business
Trustees also approved changing the township’s Freedom of Information Act coordinator as its current coordinator, Jack Dolan of York, Dolan & Tomlinson PC, aimed to retire.

The firm’s name was changed to Tomlinson & McGrail, PLLC and the new FOIA coordinator for the township is Linda McGrail. Meltzer and Township Treasurer Mike Aiello voted against the change, Meltzer preferring to have the legal services contract put out to bid rather than retain the new, renamed firm.