Robert Avallone and his sister moved to the north country when he bought a house two years ago, but she went back to the Albany area because there wasn’t much to do for senior citizens.
She missed going to a senior center in the town of Clifton Park.
And now Mr. Avallone, 71, wants to make sure local seniors have a place they can share.
Seniors need “to get away from their loneliness and be with each other,” he said during an initial meeting to talk about establishing a senior center in the city.
City Councilwoman Lisa A. Ruggiero said the meeting was set up to get input from the community.
They invited other seniors and representatives from local organizations to talk about what it would take to start a senior center in Watertown.
About 20 people attended the two-hour meeting at Flower Memorial Library Tuesday to brainstorm and offer ideas.
They envision a place that would be open daily and offer all kinds of activities for people age 60 and older.
Myrtle Avenue resident Nola Bolton, 69, would go to a senior center that would have such activities as movie nights, lunches, bingo and other games, and monthly dances.
And things to do for those younger seniors.
“I’m going to be 70 next year, but I don’t feel it,” she said.
Sylvia Budeson, who helmed the local Welcome Wagon program years ago, is active in her neighborhood making sure everyone is OK and bakes brownies for them.
“Seniors don’t get a lot of attention in Watertown,” she said. “I’d love to see something like that be put together.”
Councilwoman Ruggiero said the group should learn about all the activities that are offered by local groups now and plan from there.
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