The Community Center is located at 1735 Simpson Ave. in Ocean City.
By MADDY VITALE
Mary Walsh has been going to the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center inside the Ocean City Community Center for years.
She enjoys it so much that she helps out there and was recently honored by the county for her work.
But an agreement reached between Cape May County and Ocean City will transfer control of the center over to the city, effective Feb. 1.
“Cape May County has done an amazing job operating the Howard Stainton Senior Center and we are grateful for their dedication to the senior population of our town,” Mayor Jay Gillian said in a joint news release with the county. “This building is a one-of-a-kind, multi-purpose facility and as such, Ocean City sees tremendous opportunity to expand and improve the quality of programs offered to the seniors of our town by assuming operations of the center.”
City and county representatives met with seniors to inform them of the change during a meeting at the Senior Center on Dec. 14.
Walsh said she hopes things will stay the same.
“I don’t want any changes,” she said while sitting with friends at the center Tuesday. “We like the people who are here and we like the activities. We have no complaints and we’d like it to remain the same. We are already happy.”
The Senior Center, which is currently under the county’s Division of Aging and Disability Services, will soon fall under Ocean City’s Community Services Department.
The senior center is currently run by Cape May County and provides meals, transportation and activities for its guests.
Dan Kelchner, the director of the city's Community Services Department, said the city only wants to improve upon what is being offered to the seniors, and is not looking to take away or change anything that they seniors currently enjoy.
“We are taking the model of what they did and just localizing and building on it,” Kelchner said in an interview. “The seniors aren’t losing anything; they are just standing to gain more resources as well as programs and activities we are hoping will engage more seniors.”
Ocean City will assume responsibility for programming, staffing and meals, but also plans to supplement and expand transportation needs beyond what is currently provided, officials said.
Cape May County will continue to provide services in partnership with Ocean City through the County’s Fare Free Transportation Department and the Human Services Division of Aging and Disability Services. The two county employees previously assigned to the Ocean City’s Center will be transferred to another county-run Senior Center.
Kelchner said the first priority of his department is to find out what the seniors would like to see new or what they want to keep as is.
“We really think this will be a real amenity and resource to the community well into the future,” Kelchner said. “Ocean City does a remarkable job. One of the things that excites me is extending the relationship with the Senior Center my department has developed with the museum and the library.”
Walsh, Kass Holton, of Ocean City, Kathy Hill, of Egg Harbor Township, and Emily DeFranco, of Upper Township, enjoyed their Bingo game and spoke a bit about their love of the Senior Center.
Like Walsh, other seniors said they are happy with how things are now. However, they are hopeful that they will still have the amenities and activities as they currently do.
Holton has been coming to the Senior Center for the past couple of months.
“It’s the best thing that has happened to me,” she said, noting that she likes the camaraderie with fellow seniors.
Kelchner said that city employee Maryann McElroy will be in charge of the Senior Center, specifically programming. McElroy, currently employed at the Fire Department, also emcees city events.
Kelchner said McElroy is a wonderful choice for the position, in part because she has a positive and upbeat personality and is a lot of fun.
Anyone interested in providing feedback or suggestions for the Senior Center can contact Maryann McElroy by email at [email protected] or by phone at 609-399-6111, ext. 9280.
The Ocean City Community Center is located at 1735 Simpson Ave.
