Seniors Outraged at proposed relocation of Grace Martin Harwell Senior Center | Eastern North Carolina Now

   Seniors in Washington, North Carolina are a powerful electoral force in the city with approximately 26% of the population being aged 55 and over. For decades, the seniors have enjoyed the facility at Grace Martin Harwell Senior Center in downtown Washington. The facility has provided much needed physical activity, social events, a small library and civic opportunities for seniors in addition to helping with the loss of a spouse or loved one. For decades it has served as a home away from home for many in the community and surrounding areas and for some as their only source of social interaction.

   The City of Wasington has proposed moving the seniors out of the center and relocating them to another section of the city away from the waterfront and all the downtown businesses that they patronize. The reason given for this is to turn the facility into a local history room and eventually to house the Historic Port of Washington Project. There has been speculation that there was a deal made months ago to hand the building over to the Historic Port of Washington Project behind closed doors and with no public input.

    Seniors are having none of it. To quote one senior that I spoke to, "Young man we have not yet begun to fight". The seniors at the center were not consulted on the project or the relocation and were only made aware when an article appeared in the paper which seems par for the course lately for many city endeavors.

   They are organizing quickly with a planned protest at Bug Park where the mayor will be present for a dedication ceremony on July 15th at 11 AM. There is a ciruclating petition that has already gathered 200+ signatures and there is talk of bombarding City Hall with phone calls and unannounced visits unless the city drops its plans to remove the seniors from the center.

   It appears that the city's continued lack of openness and transparency may have met its match by trying to bamboozle its most seasoned citizens. The city seems to have taken the elderly for granted and elected officials may be paying a price for ignoring their constituents come election time.