Moncton seniors shocked by 'betrayal' after plan for new centre falls through
Rising Tide decides seniors' group can't use building after all
Nothing was set in stone, but Dennis Cochrane says there was a "gentlemen's agreement" between Rising Tide Community Initiatives and the citizens' group looking for a home for a seniors' centre in Moncton.
So when Rising Tide backed away from the plan, it came as a shock.
"We are obviously disappointed," Cochrane said. "We felt it was a bit of a betrayal to the seniors and to our group."
Cochrane and dozens of others had been looking for a new location since the seniors' centre at the Moncton Lions Community Centre was turned into an emergency shelter in 2022. Seniors have been trying to find places to gather ever since.
"We wanted to make sure there was a place for seniors to socialize," Cochrane said. "It may be physical activity, it may be a card game, it may be yoga — but they need to have a place to get together."
The group recently incorporated the name 1010 Seniors Centre Inc, after months of discussions with Rising Tide about leasing the main floor of its building at 1010 St. George Blvd.
But the group might have to change that name, since it will no longer be occupying that building.
Rising Tide president Dale Hicks told Information Morning Moncton that the building will instead be leased to a group of doctors operating a medical clinic. It will serve the seniors who will occupy the affordable housing units being renovated by Rising Tide on the two upper floors.
"We looked at it as a great alternative, not just for the seniors in the building, not just for the seniors next door, but also for the community-at-large health care," he said.
The seniors' group had approached Moncton city council for funding for the centre, since it had helped with the previous one.
Council agreed in April to give the seniors' group $1.1 million if it met 16 conditions, including forming a board and creating a business plan.
But Hicks said those conditions hadn't yet been met, and Rising Tide couldn't delay the start of the renovations.
"We're sitting on a project we're ready to go on," he said. "It's a $9 million project. We can't sit and wait for another four, five, six months to get an answer."
City still confident
In Cochrane's mind, the 16 requirements such as forming a board and creating a business plan were a formality, and the funding from the city was virtually guaranteed.
"We felt we could start the construction and start getting ready to build our facility, and we would have all of that done long before the facility was ready," he said.
Moncton Deputy Mayor Paulette Thériault was also confident the seniors' group would met the requirements eventually.
"I'm still hopeful that they will meet those conditions," she said.
For now, the funding is on hold, but Thériault said the group could still receive money when it finds a new location.
"We'll have to deal with that as we go along. We have no idea, they may find a building that they do not have to have a loan to renovate, so it's kind of too premature to decide on that," she said.
Theriault said the city is still committed to helping the seniors find a location that works.
"We have a good base to work on," she said. "We've got the recommendation from council. So now, hopefully we'll just continue the dialogue and come up with another proposal."
"I'm convinced that we will find what the seniors need and want."
Cochrane hopes that the momentum of the seniors' group will lead them to find a new location for their centre.
"We've got a few leads that we're going to look at," he said. "We're going to discuss them with the city and we'll see if they come to fruition.
"This is a bump in the road, This is a setback, but it's not terminal."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
