Hopkinton selectmen have vowed to rebuild the Slusser Senior Center that was destroyed by arson Jan. 15 – only four months before it was scheduled to open.

But some residents aren’t supportive of the initiative to rebuild.

Though the primary concern of many Hopkinton taxpayers and town officials is to see the Slusser Senior Center rebuilt, resident Holly Dubreuil would like selectmen to explore their roles in the reason it was burned down in the first place.

Dubreuil said she in no way supports arson, but she understands why some people are upset with the potential cost of the building.

“I definitely feel that the number one priority should be finding the arsonist, but I also feel they need to find out what the underlying issues are that caused it and why the taxpayers are so angry,” she said. “I really feel that through my experience with selectmen, that many people are feeling they aren’t being heard.”

Dubreuil said after the town voted down a $2.85 million community center in 2005 and a $450,000 petitioned warrant article for a senior center last year, she expected selectmen to follow through with their promise to bring a new plan for a senior center forward at the 2007 Town Meeting.

But that was before Eugene and Anne Slusser donated $1 million to fund the project at Houston Fields, said Selectman Don Lane.

“The gift was given by the Slussers with two conditions – one, that it be used to build a senior center and that its construction commence immediately,” said Lane. “The conditions are clear. It’s not a very convoluted thing. We signed an agreement with the Slussers to do exactly what we’re doing.”

Once the $1 million offer was made by the Slussers, said Lane, the town went to the state to determine the proper process for accepting the gift. The town held a public meeting, as required by state regulations and those residents who showed up agreed to accept the gift and use it to build a senior center.

“We did everything legally,” Lane said. “If people had these concerns, they should have expressed them back in May. And if we heard enough of these concerns, then things may have been done differently.”

The town then held two well attended public meetings in July and August to ask residents what they wanted in the senior center. Still, Dubreuil said to be fully upfront, selectmen should have waited until Town Meeting.

“I’m not on the board that’s building it and I personally have nothing against a senior center,” she said. “(The Slusser’s gift) is amazing and it’s great that someone would donate the million dollars, but I feel if it had been brought up at a regular Town Meeting the result may have been different.”

As far as operating cost of the new senior center is concerned, Lane said selectmen anticipate spending only $16,500 between operating costs at Columbia Hall and the Slusser Center over the next year, which could be even less given the impact of the fire.

Before the Community Center Inc. vacated Columbia Hall in August, the town sent the nonprofit organization $15,000 a year to use the building for recreational and senior activities. Once the new senior center opens, Lane said the town will only transfer employees, including the town recreation and human services directors, rather than hiring additional staff.

Moreover, the town will decide whether Columbia Hall should be maintained by the town or sold, which could bring additional money to the town and potentially be used to offset taxes.

The Slusser Center will primarily be used for senior activities, although, Lane said, the plan is still to use the building for town recreation activities. Operating costs for a full year at the Slusser Senior Center are projected at $28,000 to $33,000, but Lane is quick to point out that is no surprise.

“We’ve been very upfront that the money we received was designed for building a senior center, and the town would have to bear the operating costs,” said Lane. “If you look at the value of receiving the million dollars and determine what it would cost if you bonded it, it would probably cost a heck of a lot, somewhere around $120,000 a year for 15 years. A lot more than the operating costs, which would still be there on top of the bond.”

To alleviate future tax burden, selectmen adopted an endowment similar to the library foundation that is used to buy books. Lane said it will take time, but once a strong enough foundation is set, the town will be able to offset operating costs with earned interest.

Though the bid to build the senior center came in $450,000 more than the $1 million donation, Lane said there have been changes made to bring the senior center in line with projection.

Selectmen will not ask for the additional money through taxes, but rather the town is launching a capital campaign to make up the current $300,000 difference, though supplies are being donated and further cuts are being made to lower that amount, said Lane.

To accept and allocate the additional money, the town will have to call another public meeting and get residents approval. Resident Scott Flood doesn’t think that is fair to residents.

“What kind of choice does that give the town?” said Flood. “You’ve already built the building and if the town doesn’t approve it then the building just falls into disrepair.”

Flood also said if selectmen weren’t in a rush to build the senior center, they could have sold the red barn that used to stand where the foundation for the burnt building now sits, rather than demolishing the antique structure.

Selectmen asked the town for permission to sell the barn in 2005, but tabled the discussion and never resolved the issue.

“If the selectmen felt they needed town approval to sell the barn back in 2005, how is it possible that selectmen do not need town approval to demolish the barn in 2006?” said Flood in an October memorandum sent to selectmen. “Could the barn have been sold and removed, thereby providing further revenue for the town? Clearly, the selectmen thought it was possible back in March of 2005. Why then throw the potential revenue away in 2006?”

Flood added that the barn could have also been used for a municipal purpose.

Lane, however, said selectmen tried to sell the structure and received no legitimate offers. In fact, Lane said it would have cost the town a lot more to move the structure, which had minimal to no value. Instead, the town found someone who would demolish the building and take it at no cost, thus saving the town a significant amount of money, said Lane.

(Editor’s note: View a video of the Jan. 15 fire that destroyed the Slusser Senior Center by clicking here The video was provided to The Bow Times by Hopkinton resident Vernon Miller.)