To the editor:

All I can say is, wow! 

Town residents need to know how the Friends of Portsmouth Senior Center (FPSC), a  501(c)(3), is being treated by the Town Council and town leadership. FPSC formed to advocate for the senior center once it was learned by the public, the town planned to close the senior center. FPSC is willing to fund-raise to get the Anne Hutchinson School (location of the senior center) to a place of addressing the remaining fire code violation which will meet senior center’s needs in one town location while Church Community Housing (CCH) works on affordable housing proposals for the property and ideally incorporating the senior center in the design, which could take up to five years. 

FPSC was asked to create a memorandum of understanding (MOU) during the March 8, 2021 Town Council meeting, which they did and submitted by the deadline to get on the March 22, 2021 meeting agenda. 

Originally, FPSC were told the MOU would not be on the agenda for last night’s meeting. The community reacted and then the item was placed on the agenda, only for FPSC to be surprised during Monday’s meeting for no discussion and told the MOU is still being reviewed and tabled. There was no mention of when the MOU will ultimately be addressed. 

Note the director of the FPSC asked twice prior to last night’s meeting for review mockup/comments on the draft MOU submitted last week and did not receive due to client/attorney privilege, understandable. Never was there any indication that the MOU would not be discussed during last night’s meeting. FPSC was muted during last night’s meeting when they tried to ask the question for the reason why the MOU was not being addressed during open meeting, same as the CCH MOU was handled during the Feb. 8, 2021 meeting. 

The town administrator went to the State Fire Marshal Board on Feb. 18, 2020 to request closing of the Anne Hutchinson building as of June 31, 2021 and demolishing it. At no time had senior center leadership been a part of any of these discussions, nor made aware of the town’s representations to the State Fire Marshal Board. 

The senior center has a valid lease with the town. As such, pursuant to the terms of the lease, if the town opts not to make repairs to the building, the senior center has the right to. Due to COVID, the seniors are unable to fund-raise in their normal course and are disadvantaged by not having access to needed resources. Thereby, FPSC stepped up to assist and is simply asking for the town to honor the terms of the lease and allow these repairs to be made; in turn, the senior center will not be displaced.

The Portsmouth Senior Center will be celebrating its 40th anniversary in June. Instead of recognizing their valuable contributions to our community and working with them to remain at the Anne Hutchinson School, the Town Council and town leadership have done nothing but try to close their doors. Who closes a senior center during a pandemic? 

There is an agenda for the Anne Hutchinson School site. The lack of transparency is a concern for all residents. Regardless of your thoughts around what is happening, our seniors are caught in the middle.

Mary Ellen Martin

Director, Friends of Portsmouth Senior Center

2752 East Main Road 

Portsmouth