Fitness facility opens at Senior Center, but future hinges on additional funds

The newly remodeled Washington County Senior Center fitness facility is now open, but its future hinges on additional funding. The “SeniorFit” center officially opened May 30.

The Washington County Commission on Aging, the nonprofit group that owns the senior center, remodeled a 2,000 square foot garage for the new fitness facility. The senior center main building used to have a small room with a few pieces of fitness equipment.

The new building has 24 pieces of equipment including treadmills, fitness bikes and fitness steppers. Seniors 55 years old and older can use the fitness facility five days a week after going through a safety training.

The center has more than 1,300 active members, according to a county news release. Before the renovation, classes were filling to capacity and there were waiting lists to use exercise equipment, the county said.

The fitness facility, along with the commission on aging’s other programs, are supported by federal, state or local funds or through direct donations.

In July, the commission will have to make tough choices about how to lower costs unless it gets additional funding, said Amy Olack, CEO of the commission. As the cost of living increases, so does the cost of running a building, Olack said.

This could mean fewer business hours for the fitness center and other cuts.

The senior center and SeniorFit are free for all seniors, except some specialized workout classes. This makes funding for the building dependent on outside funding.

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Olack is encouraging community members and the government to invest in the lives of senior residents.

“We have to invest in our seniors, this is our time to give back to them,” Olack said.

Local businesses donated exercise equipment, a clock and televisions to the facility, Olack said. 

The senior center as a whole focuses on the health and wellbeing of seniors, Fisher said. The center has SeniorFit, an outdoor fitness park and a foot reflexology path. Besides these amenities, the center has classes on strength training and lessons about personal health.

Kevin Sword said he has used the fitness facility nearly every day since it’s opening. As he nears 70, Sword said he is trying to stay healthy.

“If you let yourself go, you’re not going to live very long,” Sword said.

The senior center is about physical health and connection for seniors. Fisher said it’s important for seniors to be with like-minded individuals in spaces like fitness facilities.

The SeniorFit project started in 2019 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Washington County Commission on Aging manages 88 programs for seniors, including the senior center.

Tim Fisher, chief development officer for the commission, said they have seen a great increase in the number of seniors trying to use the commission’s programs since the pandemic.

“One of the things it revealed in our paradigm was the great work that happens here … the demand for services just skyrocketed,” Fisher said.

Now that the public health emergency for the pandemic has ended, Fisher said, funding might become more difficult to secure.

During the pandemic, he said, funding was able to stretch more for programs like the commission. Funding is now returning to the less-flexible pre-pandemic state, even with an increased demand for these services.

“For the seniors in Washington County, the people who help build our county … to be able to give back to them and provide them with an area where they can focus on their fitness and their well-being … that’s core to our mission,” Fisher said.