Community/senior center on Monday agenda

The fate of a proposed Birmingham Community and Senior Center will likely be decided next Monday, August 11, when the city commission meets.

According to the agenda for the meeting, under the ‘old business’ section of the meeting, commissioners will be asked whether a proposed center not to exceed $36.64 million should be placed on the November 4 ballot this fall. Birmingham taxpayers would pay for the new center.

The city commission has been grappling with this issue since Birmingham first purchased for $2 million the YMCA building on Lincoln Street in July of 2023 as a new home for the Next senior services group which for decades has been housed in a school district building that the district plans on reclaiming for use as an early childhood education center. The Next group, which also serves some neighboring communities, put up $500,000 toward the purchase of the YMCA building.

Initially the YMCA asked to remain at the Lincoln Street facility for a short period of time after which the group would be moving to a proposed new YMCA building in the Royal Oak area, a project which fell through due to financial considerations.

The city had an assessment of the YMCA building performed and it was recommended that it would be preferable to tear down the existing building and construct a new structure. Once the YMCA Royal Oak proposal was abandoned, YMCA officials expressed an interest in remaining in Birmingham as part of the new building, although no funding would be available to contribute to the new structure.

Then, what started as a home for the Next group soon morphed into a proposal as a community center, including the YMCA and Next along with offerings to the community at large.

Considerable time was spent attempting to determine how to share space in the new structure between the YMCA and Next, a process which some observers say seemed to be dominated by the needs of the YMCA at the expense of the senior services group. Several attempts were made to downsize a proposed new building to contain costs, including in recent months when proposed new tariffs were announced by the Trump administration and projected costs increased even more.

Months ago the city commission tabled an effort to put the community and senior center on the August ballot and no formal meeting discussions have taken place since then.

In the interim, the Next board has voted on a resolution stating that their preference was to return to the original agreement with the city and make modifications to the current building, using funds from a short-term millage that was already approved by voters. The YMCA has also had one of its architects draw up an alternative plan for a new building estimated to cost $27.477 million.

The meeting Monday at City Hall on Martin Street begins at 7:30 p.m. The city commission will also hold a workshop meeting at City Hall to discuss this issue and the options, starting at 6 p.m.

Both meetings can be attended by Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/655079760