Scarborough is a great town. Our senior citizens are the folks most responsible for making Scarborough the fine community we enjoy today with excellent schools and solid municipal services.

I’ve lived in Scarborough for over 40 years and know many senior citizens who have never asked for anything for themselves, but always been in support of our children’s needs or wants.

We have the opportunity to thank our seniors for all that they have done to make our town a better place to live and work by voting in favor of the referendum question for a senior center. I, too, am in favor of holding down taxes, but believe this to be a worthy cause.

The cost of this project is minimal because it’s spread over a $3.2 billion tax base. The cost for a home assessed at $200,000 is ONLY 50 cents a month, LESS than a cup of coffee. The benefits of a senior center are enormous considering the limited cost. It would provide our seniors a facility to meet, socialize and exercise.

It will enable many to stay connected to the community and most probably the opportunity to give back to the community.

How many times have you all seen donations of one form or another from our local Lions Club. Too numerous to count, I assure you. The sad reality is many of our seniors are all alone or eventually will be. A senior center will help change this and enrich their quality of life. The facility will ALSO be available for other activities and groups when it’s not being used by the seniors.

We have over 4,000 senior citizens in Scarborough with the majority living on low and/or fixed incomes. Their incomes are stretched to the limit with the rapidly increasing costs of prescription drugs, heating fuel, health care, gasoline and taxes.

There isn’t much left for the basic necessities after these costs are met, thus preventing many of our seniors from having the income for other activities that a senior center would provide.

Government has the responsibility to take care of the young. Scarborough has done this with the majority of the budget being spent on education, as well as numerous large projects such as the $27 million expansion of the high school.

Government also has the responsibility to take care of the elderly. Quite frankly, very little has been done over the years toward meeting this obligation. A senior center would go a long way toward making things right.

I would encourage all citizens to give this referendum question serious consideration when voting in the upcoming election and give our seniors the support from us they deserve, by voting IN FAVOR of the one thing they would like: A SENIOR CENTER. After all, someday (sooner than one thinks) we ourselves will be senior citizens.

Paula O’Brien

Scarborough