The Meridian Township Board has approved a funding plan for a new senior and community center, which will be on voters’ ballots during the August election.
The board voted Thursday on the plan, choosing from five different proposals. If approved, the plan will mean a .9051 millage increase to property taxes which will raise residents’ property taxes by 90 cents on each thousand dollars of property value.
Meridian Township Supervisor Scott Hendrickson says he thinks Meridian residents will approve the measure.“
Our residents have told us through our community surveys that a senior and community center is among the top three things they wish to see in our township,” Hendrickson said.
He says the plan going before voters on Aug. 5 was not the cheapest nor the most expensive proposal for a new senior and community center.
“We opted to go with a scaled-back version of the Senior and Community Center that still allows us to add on in the future if it’s wildly successful, as we expect it to be,” he said.
The state of Michigan is also providing $5 million for the new facility, which will offer a gym, a stage and a community meeting space, among other amenities.
Meridian Township currently operates a senior center at Chippewa Middle School, which is scheduled to be demolished.
Hendrickson says if funding is approved, a new center could be open in 2027 with no gap in planned senior activities.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.