MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Middletown City officials committed to buying the Central Connections facility at a special meeting Thursday — just a little over an hour after City Manager Paul Lolli informed the council that the senior center, which had operated in the community for more than 70 years in some form, would be closing its doors within 24 hours.
The facility has been facing financial instability, causing the Council on Aging to sever its contracts providing at-home meal deliveries and transportation services to roughly 1,300 seniors in the region last week.
A day after the contracts were nullified, Middletown Police escorted Director Diane Rodgers out of the building and opened a criminal investigation into operations at the facility. Her contract was terminated by the board.
Police Chief David Birk said its investigation is ongoing. Rodgers and her attorney, Tyrone Borger, were scheduled to meet with Middletown detectives last week, but they failed to show, Birk told WCPO partner Journal-News.
After Thursday's meeting, Central Connections member Paul Gomia, who lives at a nearby senior center, said he was relieved to hear that the city had committed to taking action to keep the center open.
"The day that we heard the problems at Connections they were all like panicked in the day room, and they didn't know if they were going to be eating regularly or if they were going to have access to their doctors," he said.
Gomia said he would take the news that the city was developing plans to purchase the facility back to his care center as welcome news.
Councilman Rodney Muterspaw told the packed crowd of seniors in attendance that they should be angry about the developments that lead to Central Connections falling under.
"It really sucks for people," he said during the meeting.
Muterspaw said it was the city's responsibility to keep the center open especially after a levy ending in 2022 provided $7,000,000 to pay for the building's mortgage.
Buying the property now, he said, would be a way to stabilize the situation until another firm could take over.
"If we own it that way, we'll have the city run until we get it back on its feet," Muterspaw said. "And then we'd look at outsourcing it or selling it to someone to have them run it for us."
During council comments, Vice Mayor Monica Thomas said the city and council were "caught off guard" by the center’s financial difficulties.
Mayor Nicole Condrey also raised concern during the meeting that the city might not be in a position financially to buy the property and continue the services that Central Connections offered.
"We are trying to balance everything in the city financially, and we've got a lot of big projects going on right now that we are way over budget," Condrey said.
Muterspaw said the primary focus for the council has been keeping critical services running while they develop a plan to buy Central Connections, and warned that some services, largely social ones, would have to be cut in the short-term.
In the meantime, Council on Aging Communications Consultant Anne Sells said their operations have been able to fill the gap in meal delivery and transportation options left by the facility's closure.
For communal meals, the Council added a list of sights in Butler and Warren Counties where meals are free for people over 60 years old:
- Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. through Friday, Aug. 11: First Presbyterian Church, 2910 Central Ave., Middletown, OH 45044. Park in the west lot off McGee Ave. Handicapped parking is available in this lot. Enter the church using door A. No reservation is required.
- This is a temporary location for the meal previously served at Central Connections and is moving permanently to MidPointe Middletown Library on Monday, Aug. 14, as noted below.
- Monday through Friday from noon to 1 p.m. beginning Monday, Aug. 14: MidPointe Middletown Library, 125 S. Broad St., Middletown, OH 45044. Reservation required — call 513-424-1251.
- Monday through Thursday from noon to 12:30 p.m.: Oxford Senior Citizens, 922 Tollgate Dr., Oxford, OH 45056. Call ahead for the menu or to reserve your meal — 513-523-8100.
- Monday through Friday from noon to 12:30 p.m. or later if needed: Warren County Community Services 741 Center, 570 N. St. Rte. 740, Lebanon, OH 45036. Call ahead for the menu or to reserve your meal — 513-695-2271.
- Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with meal service at 11:30 a.m.: MidPointe Library Trenton, 200 Edgewood Dr., Trenton, OH 45067. Reservation required — call 513-424-1251.
- Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with meal service at 11:30 a.m.: MidPointe Library Monroe, 6 East Ave., Monroe, OH 45050. Reservation required — call 513-424-1251.
- Friday from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., with meal service at 11:30 a.m.: MidPointe Library West Chester, 9363 Centre Pointe Dr., West Chester, OH 45069. Reservation required — call 513-424-1251.
For more information on congregate meal sites, click here.
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