When Lois Davidowicz moved to Scarborough eight years ago, she did not know a soul except for her daughter and did not have much to do except read books, watch television and make puzzles.

“We could have used (the Senior Center) because there’s so many senior citizens in the town of Scarborough, and we contribute to all those schools and get nothing in return,” Davidowicz said.

In the wake of the rejection by voters of a $1.2 million bond to build a senior center, the town is now in the process of forming a Senior Committee to study senior needs in town.

Scarborough is home to a sizable senior population, and many of them have moved here from elsewhere after retirement. Senior Voices and Senior Series, another town senior organization, provide people like Davidowicz that chance to meet other adults and have some fun.

“I really think seniors don’t have the respect of the town and I hope this committee will change that,” said Linda Bidler, president of Senior Series.

Without these two organizations, there would be virtually no senior related recreational activities in Scarborough, except for the occasional trip offered by the town.

“If it wasn’t for Senior Series, me personally, I don’t know what I would be doing now,” said Bidler.

Some seniors applaud the formation of the new town committee and say it’s a step in the right direction to offering seniors broader community services.

“I hope everybody on the committee has an open mind and starts from the beginning,” Bidler said. “I think it’s a positive step as long as the focus is on the seniors.”

The committee will identify the programming and facility needs of the town’s senior population, existing resources, and resources that will need to be developed to meet the needs that cannot be addressed through existing services.

“It’s looking at the needs overall of seniors,” said Town Manager Ron Owens. “What we’re trying to do is have a committee focused more on the senior population.”

There is limited programming for seniors now in town and what is being offered is done through the Southern Maine Agency on Aging, Senior Services and Senior Series.

The Southern Maine Agency on Aging provides information and services to seniors throughout the region, but does not focus on recreational activities, which lead to the growth of Senior Series and Senior Voices.

But recreational opportunities such as bingo, lectures and interactive presentations are what people like Davidowicz are looking for and what was lacking in their life before joining the town’s senior groups.

“Senior citizens need a common place to meet people,” she said.

Many seniors hoped that voters would have approved the Senior Center bond and said the center would have provided them a place to host various events and also serve as a drop-in center.

It is unclear why the bond request failed. Ted Tibbals, a member of Senior Series, said one reason could have been a general misunderstanding of the proposal. While it would have been a senior center, Tibbals said other community groups would have been able to use it, a fact lost on many.

“I think an awful lot of people don’t read local papers and don’t pay attention,” he said.

The main problem facing Senior Series and Senor Voices is space and time, an issue that would have been eliminated with a senior center.

Senior Series meets at the Hillcrest Retirement Community and has been offered more time at its common meeting area, but the building is not large enough for some of the events.

The organization recently held an appreciation luncheon and some of the guests had to sit outside because of a lack of space. The space also does not allow the organization to set-up permanent fixtures that would be helpful such as computer stations.

Meanwhile, Senior Voices meets at Scarborough Downs, which has a lot of room, but limited availability.

There are now plans for an expansion of the library as well as construction of a YMCA in Scarborough. One of the Senior Committee’s charges is to look at the options those two projects could give to seniors, but Tibbals said he is not convinced those projects will offer what seniors really need.

“One of the things we were looking for is a drop-in center,” he said. “That can not be done at either of the two facilities currently being used.”

The Senior Services Study Committee is now being formed and the town clerk is accepting applications. The committee will report back to the town council in March or April to discuss what may be needed to be included in next year’s budget. The committee’s has a June deadline.