Middletown Seniors Get Shelter from the Storm

A new addition at the Middletown Senior Center arrived just in time for April showers this year.

After eight years in the making, the recently completed construction of a new awning over its main entrance ramp.

Prior to having the awning, seniors encountered potentially dangerous and slippery conditions on the ramp, explained Middletown Senior Center Executive Director Arleen Kaull.

"A lot of seniors get dropped off at the bottom of the ramp and then from there, they walk in, but for seniors, that can be a long way, especially when it's icy," she said. "In the winter it kept re-freezing and so we'd have to keep going out there constantly with the 'ice melt' or to help walk the seniors in."

The ADA compliant concrete ramp was constructed about seven years ago through a Community Development Block Grant fund, but the awning to cover it had been turned down numerous times over the years for requests for grant monies to pay for it, she said.

Eventually, the previous Town Council authorized the town to fund the $9,000 project in its entirety, according to Kaull. She credited former Town Council member Bob Sylvia for fighting for the funding authorization.

The project was completed several weeks ago.

"It's just a relief to all of us," she said. "Now it can rain all it wants. Finally!"