The Scarborough Town council gave preliminary approval to place a $1.2 million bond on November’s ballot for the construction of a senior center at the municipal campus at Oak Hill.

While the building is expected to cost around $1 million, town officials built in a contingency to cover any unexpected overruns. The bond would cost property taxpayers $3 a year per $100,000 in valuation, according to Town Manager Ron Owens.

The bond is expected to be formally sent to voters following a public hearing at the council’s meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

The town’s two senior organizations – Senior Series and Senior Voices – have proposed building a 5,000- to 5,200-square-foot facility that will be primarily used by the seniors, but also made available to other community groups.

It will include a large meeting room and other smaller rooms for activities such as arts and crafts, computer use and exercise. There also will be a reception area and an office.

There was some question whether the building is going to be large enough. But the group developing the plans stated they have visited numerous senior centers and have based their proposal on the Wells senior center and feel comfortable with its size.

Currently both senior organizations meet at Scarborough Downs and Hillcrest Retirement Community. Seniors are concerned that the meeting space may become unavailable at some point in the future and say that the limited availability at both facilities restricts their programming.