The Powell Senior Center has been pushing to build a new facility for the past several years. Now with funding opportunities coming down the pipeline through the state as a result of American Rescue Plan Act money, financing this $6.6 million construction has never looked more promising. 

However, a dispute over the donation of land will need to be worked out for the development to progress. 

Disputes

The current senior center was constructed in the 1970s and lacks Americans with Disabilities Act compliant features. Linda Graff, who uses the center along with her husband, Bob, spoke at the last regular Powell City Council meeting in April about the need for a new facility. 

“We have thoroughly enjoyed it, but we watch our friends who are struggling to get around …It’s not ADA friendly at all,” Linda Graff said. 

Members of the PSC board and the center’s executive director, Linda Dalton, approached the council on Monday, April 18, to request that the city take possession of a 1-acre parcel of land that the Rocky Mountain Manor, an affordable senior housing complex, has offered to give to PSC for the new facility. 

Dalton asked the city to take ownership of this parcel in order to address disputes between the manor and PSC. 

“We have been working with the manor for five years now, and we’re not getting anywhere,” Dalton explained at the regular council meeting.

As an example of these differences, Dalton said the manor board wanted a covered walkway between the manor and the senior center, but that would create access problems for emergency responders. 

Speaking after the meeting, Cindy Ibarra, director of the Rocky Mountain Manor, said she and the members of the manor’s board of directors were under the impression that the city needed to take ownership of the land to improve eligibility for funding opportunities through the state. This was why the board supported it. 

“The Rocky Mountain Manor has worked in good faith with the Powell Senior Center for several years to donate land for a new senior center facility,” Ibarra said in a statement. “We believe our community is in need of a new facility and a better program for our seniors. We look forward to continuing to work with the Powell Senior Center to make this improvement for our community.” 

At the council meeting, Dalton said she didn’t think PSC’s eligibility for funding of the new center would require city ownership of the land. 

Manor board member Jeff Sheridan said he couldn’t speak for the manor board and couldn’t comment on Dalton’s points, but he confirmed the manor board had agreed to gifting the land to the city. 

The only deed restriction the manor board had requested, Sheridan explained, is that if the funding isn’t acquired in 24 months, possession of the land would revert back to the manor. 

Dalton added that the senior center would like that deed restriction to be contingent on the manor continuing operation as a senior housing facility. 

City ownership

Mayor John Wetzel told Dalton that should the city proceed with taking ownership of the land, there would be state regulatory restrictions to contend with. While the city could own the land and lease it back to PSC, Wetzel said the best option would be to have the city take over the land and the facility. 

“We’d then basically be the builders of the project,” Wetzel said. 

City Attorney Sandra Kitchen said the requested deed restrictions could potentially come in conflict with state law. If the city possesses the land with the proposed deed restrictions, it could not simply transfer ownership to another party in the future should the use of the land change, Kitchen said; state law would require a bidding process to change ownership.

Councilor Zane Logan asked Dalton what advantages and disadvantages would come with the city owning the land. 

Dalton said that Sen. R.J. Kost, R-Powell, had suggested PSC approach the city to ask it to take ownership of the land in order to proceed with the project without all the disputes between the manor and PSC. 

“They [the manor board members] change what they want every time we talk with them.” Dalton said. 

In an interview, Kost said city ownership of the land is required to obtain funding from the state and is not related to any disagreements between PSC and the manor. He had suggested to the PSC board that the best route is to have the new center be a city-owned facility, with the PSC board in charge of operating the facility. 

Councilor Geoff Hovivian asked if the interest in city ownership was a result of disputes between the manor and PSC. 

“Why does the city have to get in the middle of it?” Hovivian asked.

Councilor Steve Lensegrav asked if the city taking over the land would help circumvent the restrictions that Dalton said the manor is placing on the project. 

To both questions, Dalton said she believed city ownership would allow the project to proceed. 

“It’s to get this moving,” Dalton said. 

Yesterday and today

The current Powell Senior Center was built in 1973 as a welding shop. Originally, Powell’s senior programs were operated out of the International Oddfellows Hall. In 1975, they took over the welding shop and converted it into today’s Powell Senior Center. 

However, the building was never intended for that purpose. It has three levels, including a basement, and is well outside compliance with the ADA. The bathrooms are too small to accommodate a wheelchair. In one incident, a man with a powered wheelchair caught it on the sink and ripped it out of the wall. 

The dining room seats about 60 people, but at lunchtime, the center can have up to 90 people to serve. It has 12 parking spaces close to the building, meaning most seniors access it over long walks, which can be icy and dangerous in the winter months. 

Besides wiring and plumbing problems, the office and storage spaces are inadequate to administer the center’s services. 

In 2021, the center provided 67,000 services to 1,400 community members. Services include serving hundreds of daily meals, many of which are delivered to the Rocky Mountain Manor. If the center were located next door, it would eliminate transportation costs. 

The Casper Star-Tribune reported recently that Wyoming is second only to Alaska in growth of its senior population, which grew by over 40% from 2010 to 2020, according to research from AginginPlace.org, an online resource hub for seniors. Across that decade, the number of Wyomingites above age 65 grew from 12.4% to 17.8% — an increase of about 43.6%. 

The Powell Senior Center has made do with its current facility, even as it serves a population of seniors that grows annually. Not only is the population aging, retirees are flooding into the area to escape diminishing quality of life in other states. 

Whatever the differences between the PSC board and the manor board, all parties — the city included — support the project. 

“We need to get a senior center built,” Wetzel said, and the councilors agreed. 

PSC had looked at other options for a new facility, including remodeling the current facility or moving to another location. Neither option was financially feasible or capable of offering adequate space and other needs to the area seniors. 

The current plans for the new 43,000 square-foot facility have everything on a single level. It includes covered drop-off areas and increased parking, and it would be entirely ADA compliant. The dining area would be doubled, and it would contain two gaming areas and an exercise room. 

The state funding would support $5 million of the construction costs, leaving PSC to raise the other $1.6 million, which could increase as construction costs rise. 

The council held a work session between the mayor, the PSC board, and the manor board, on April 25. The hope is that through mediation, any disputes can be resolved, and then it can be determined if the city would need to take ownership of the land and facility. Kost said he met with the stakeholders prior to the meeting, and the project is moving forward.

Ibarra said the manor will also continue to help bring the new center to fruition.  

“We’re trying to stay positive and we’re going to continue to work with them [PSC] to see this happen,” Ibarra said.