The saga of the Senior Center budget for the next fiscal year continues. The Senior Center plan at the start of this process was to come up with a budget that was lower than last year in order to meet the Town’s request but still allow us to continue.

The next step was to make a detailed plan encompassing all aspects of the Senior Center to address the declining attendance and interest in activities. This plan would then start to be implemented in July at the latest. By this time next year it was hoped that the Senior Center would be revived and growing.

We recognized that the reason for a decline was not due to one thing but rather to many things. However, the meal program is the most visible and takes the majority of the money. At the review of the Town departmental budgets on March 22 the Selectmen and Budget Committee thought more should be done now rather than in the next fiscal year and the 9 percent reduction in taxpayer appropriation was not enough.

At the Town Informational Budget hearing on April 2, selectmen could not agree to a budget number for the Senior Center to be placed on the warrant. A couple of the selectmen insisted that something be done now so the Senior Center Trustees have decided to make a number of changes effective immediately. The most significant is the elimination of the lunch on Tuesdays.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Pam Dunning and selectman Judy Colby have suggested that the Senior Center do potluck meals. Therefore the Public Supper Wednesday, April 24 will be a potluck. We hope to have a good turnout that evening including Pam and Judy.

After the meal there will be a general discussion as to what the Senior Center should be. Everyone is invited, members and non-members, residents and non-residents. Please plan on coming out and joining in the conversation.

Now let me dispel a few myths. The first is how much money comes from the taxpayer. Our original budget proposed for 2014 was $51,528. This is the amount that if approved, the Senior Center could spend.

However, when adding in various amounts of revenue the amount contributed through taxes would be only $11,878. This represents a 9 percent reduction over 2013.

A very important item to note here is that the Senior Center has traditionally monitored revenue and expenses and if we start to go over the appropriation amount ($11,878 in this instance) then we would do fund raising to bring it all back in line.

The bottom line is that the Senior Center would not cost the taxpayers more than the appropriation ($11,878).

Another myth is that we serve only prime rib and lobster and we eat better than ordinary residents. Lobster is served only once a year and this is to celebrate the founding of the Senior Center. This is a tradition that goes back to the early days and there is always a surcharge for anyone wanting lobster.

Prime rib has been served once a month in the past and has been a great fundraiser. We had our largest attendance of over 100 people at one of the prime rib dinners. Here too there is always a surcharge for those wanting prime rib. Yes, we do eat pretty well because we serve meals approved by a nutritionist using the USDA guidelines for nutrition. We also have an ongoing fundraiser for the St. Philip's Food Bank to help those in town who cannot afford to eat three nutritious meals a day.

The cribbage tournament winners on Tuesday, April 2 were Marlene Rines first, Jean Lannan second, Leol Corson low score and Reid Hodgdon and Linden Simmons tied for the high hand. The cribbage tournament winners on Thursday, April 4 were Robbie Greenleaf first, Jan LaBreck second, Nancy Schilke low score and Ken Colby and Doc Schilke tied for the high hand.

Meals for next week

Reservations, please! Call 207-882-8230 at least two days in advance for meal reservations.

Wednesday, April 17 – Dinner, Turkey

Thursday, April 18 – Lunch, Hamburgers