Senior center suspends activities amid ceiling problems

ZANESVILLE – Officials at the Muskingum County Center for Seniors are trying to find a new location after a slowly collapsing roof was determined to be too unsafe to continue any in-center activities.

While home meal deliveries will continue, the collapse of several ceiling tiles during the recent rainstorms has suspended all dining room services and activities, including Thursday's Senior Center Campaign Kickoff event, Executive Director Ann Combs said.

The center has had a history of roof problems, including leaking for about the last two years. For just as long, administrators say they've been in conflict with out-of-town landlords they say are unresponsive to their needs.

The leaking became worse in November, prompting the cancellation of the annual Fraternal Order of Police dinner. The roof then made a rapid decline during the last few days' consistent rain.

"We've lost about four tiles in the last 24 hours," Combs said. "It's a safety issue, and safety is of the utmost importance. We can't have seniors in here when something could happen to them. So we've decided to be proactive."

The closures, Combs said, highlight the need for a new facility for the 200-plus seniors who use the center every day. That is why she hopes voters will approve the 20-year, 0.5-mill levy on the May ballot that would go toward building a new $11 million facility.

If approved, the new facility would be built on 29,000 square feet of county land near Ohio University-Zanesville and Zane State College and would be expected to break ground as early as September 2015.

"When we have to make the desperate call to suspend the operations, we can't stress how badly we need the new facility," she said. " We have seniors who look forward to coming here for a meal, for activities and socialization every day, and to have to turn them away is heartbreaking."

Combs is examining several sites for temporary operation, and she said she is trying to find a suitable facility as soon as possible.

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