New senior fitness center, more recreational programming coming as town merges two departments

A host of new recreational programs and services will soon be available to Riverhead residents through a planned merger of the town’s recreation and senior citizen departments.

The two departments already serve similar roles in the community, and recreation department director Ray Coyne says that joining forces will allow them both to offer more services to local residents than they were able to individually.

“You are adding a ton of services to both the seniors and the youth of the town – and still saving money,” Coyne told town board members at a work session this morning, where he presented a rough draft of plans for the merger.

He estimates the merger will save the town about $1 million over a five-year period. Several unnecessary positions in both departments will be eliminated as employees retire or are transferred into other roles, and three new positions will be created, including a full-time youth bureau coordinator.

“Right now, the youth bureau is just a few part-time employees,” Coyne said. “We’re looking to take that to the next level.”

In addition to expanded programming for all ages, the merger will also allow for some capital improvements to the town’s Senior Center on Shade Tree Lane. One of the center’s rooms will be converted into a senior fitness center with exercise equipment and machines, with free classes offered during the day.

There will also be a new senior lounge with couches, flat-screen televisions and coffee tables.

“This is really the wave of the future for senior centers,” said Judy Doll, head of the senior citizen department. “They’re being utilized this way across the country.”

Coyne also hopes to extend the hours of the Senior Center to the evening, when some “younger seniors” who work during the day may be available. Transportation to and from the facility, which is already available on weekdays, would be extended into the weekends as well.

“We have a lot of the older generation of seniors at the senior department already,” he said. “We want to be more welcoming for the 60-year-olds and make sure they can benefit from the center too.”

Merging the two departments will also allow them to share services, such as the recreation department’s frequent bus trips to special events in the region. The senior citizen department has done similar bus trips specifically for seniors, but they have been “really limited,” Coyne said.

“We’ll be able to combine our resources,” he said.

Coyne also plans to bring back an “intergenerational program” for the community’s youth and seniors. “The youth will teach seniors how to use computers, and the seniors will talk to them about the war and share their own unique experiences,” Coyne said. “It will be beneficial for both groups.”

Coyne hopes that the merger, including the reorganization of staff and the capital improvements to the senior center, will be finished by September. It still needs to be approved by the town board, but council members seemed to embrace the idea during today’s work session, especially with the merger’s cost-saving measures.

“We want to be progressive,” Councilman John Dunleavy said. “The only way to be progressive is to start doing these things now.”

“It’s a fantastic idea,” added Councilman Tim Hubbard. “It could be a role model for other departments later on down the road.”

Though the merger is poised to save the town hundreds of thousands of dollars, Coyne emphasized that combining forces allows the two departments to do more for the community.

“As much as the town board wants to hear that we’re saving money,” he said after today’s meeting, “the services is where you’re really going to see the difference.”