SALISBURY — Earlier this month, Salisbury and Rufty-Holmes Senior Center came into a contract agreement with CPL Architects and Engineers, P.C. and Lifespan Design Studio for them to assist in devising the parks and recreation and senior center master plan that will involve vast improvements made to the Salisbury Civic Center. 

On April 19, Rufty-Holmes hosted the first of four input sessions where residents were encouraged to attend and give their opinions on how planning and implementation should proceed. 

“What we’re trying to do is trigger ideas from the folks that are coming in so they can give us input as to what they want. What kind of facilities are in it? How it might be designed, laid out, both indoor and outdoor,” said Brian Hiatt, the former interim city manager and current project coordinator representing Salisbury.

Though this undertaking is a partnership between the city and Rufty-Holmes, Nan Buehrer, the project coordinator representing the senior center, stressed the new center will be for people living beyond Salisbury. 

“Rufty-Holmes Senior Center is a county-wide program and will serve all county citizens and so I think that’s really important that we continue to do that,” Buehrer said.

The input session was organized where individuals could drop plastic coins in a jar to illustrate what amenities and attractions they wish to be developed. Representatives from both CPL and Lifespan were present to answer questions. 

“We’ve been planning these community sessions because it’s so important to ask the community what they want, not what we as professionals think they need,” said Jill Jackson Ledford, with Lifespan. 

Some of the questions that were asked were what the community/recreation, fitness/community, outdoor and aquatic spaces should consist of. There were also open-ended questions such as what would make someone visit the facility every week and what would add value to a person’s quality of life. 

Chloe Goho is a member of Rufty-Holmes and she said she has a desire for the new center to be the type of institution she has relied on for over a decade. 

“I would love to see it grow and continue. It has been growing tremendously over the last 15 years, we are just outgrowing this space,” Goho said. “I would like to see more space for the things we do here. We have a lot of meetings, a lot of clubs, a lot of organizations, opportunities for education and sharing knowledge.”

In addition to the input sessions, Salisbury and Rufty-Holmes have posted an online survey for anyone to take and give their thoughts on the matter. After the last input meeting in June, the programming and conceptual design process will begin.

“We’re just at the very beginning and this is all about engaging, engaging with seniors, engaging with the community, and hearing ideas and suggestions for this project,” City Manager Jim Greene said.