Public comment brings Senior Center disrepair to town council’s attention
BREMEN—A local resident, along with her mother who lives in the Senior Center apartments in downtown Bremen, spoke to the town council about the state of disrepair in the common areas in the building. “It’s not a good representation of the town of Bremen,” she said. The building is town-owned but is not subsidized.
One of her complaints was regarding the elevator. “The elevator, this week, has not worked
three times… That’s not the first time this has happened. This happens repeatedly,” she said. She reported on a lack of cleanliness in the elevator.
Town manager, Trend Weldy explained that the elevator is old and therefore acts finicky. “Every time it goes out, we call to get it repaired. I can’t repair it myself. 90% of the time, it’s just the switch. I have to go reset the switch, or David has to go reset the switch.”
The meeting rooms were also discussed. “The kitchen in that building is gross… the floor is horrendous,” she said. “The only room over there that looks really nice is the front meeting room.” She also called attention to the carpet throughout the building describing it as “awful.”
However, she did say that the apartment her mother lives in is in good shape. “The inside of her apartment is very nice. It was fixed up before she moved in. And that part—i can’t have no complaints about the apartment itself.”
Councilman Bill Daily acknowledged the public comment and agreed that the building’s was not acceptable. He explained that the town has recently hired someone who will be responsible for the building, but is currently still in training. “It’s going to be lax for a short period of time,” he warned.
He went on to report on a walk-through he had in the building after hearing complaints. He assured her that the town is working towards bringing it up par. “I am checking into it. I agree that it is a problem… That will be taken care of,” he said. “When we, the town council, hear these things, we do respond. If you have other issues, let one of us know. We will do our utmost to take care of the situation.”
Weldy also explained that the town plans on using approximately $300,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to repair the center and said he would speak to the appropriate town employees about maintenance and upkeep.
However, since the government hasn’t set a date to release ARPA money and due to supply train issues, Weldy was not able to estimate when the repairs would be implemented.
Councilman Mike Leman also suggested that the town could set aside funds to maintain the building after the initial repairs have been made. “If we have no clue on how we’re doing it, it’s always going to be reactive, not proactive,” he said. This will be a matter of further discussion in later meetings.