Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Salt Lake County and Midvale Celebrate Groundbreaking of Senior Center

File: Michelle Schmitt, Salt Lake County Mayor's Office

A small number of Midvale senior citizens gathered for the ground breaking ceremony of a new Senior Center this morning. Local seniors regularly meet at an old 3,500 square foot building, originally one of the first senior centers in the valley in Midvale City Park. By next summer they will be enjoying the new 20,000 square foot center on the city hall grounds. Traci Lee is with Salt Lake County Aging and Adult Services. She says seniors love going to the center.

“It’s a common phrase they say ‘the senior center saved my life. It gets me out of the home, it engages me in the community, I come, I meet friends, I socialize, I’m able to enjoy activities that are meaningful to me,’” says Lee.

Lee says the new state-of-the-art center fits perfectly into Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams’ master plan called “The Future We Choose.” She cites a recent study by Pam Perlich of the University of Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research called The Coming Boom in Salt Lake County’s Aging Population.

“The demographics are changing in Salt Lake County. We are known for having lots of children and now our seniors in 20 years from now will be the primary demographic. So it’s a very exciting time. Building this new senior center allows us to build for the future,” Lee says.

Midvale City donated the property for the facility while Salt Lake County is taking out a bond to pay for construction of the building. Those costs are estimated to be $4.8 million dollars.

Bob Nelson is a graduate of the University of Utah with a BA in mass communications. He began his radio career at KUER in 1978 when it was still in Kingsbury Hall. That’s also where he met his wife, Maria Shilaos, in 1981. Bob left KUER for commercial radio where he worked for 25 years, and he is thrilled to be back at KUER. Bob and his family are part of an explorer group, fondly known as The Hordes and Masses, which has been seeking out ghost towns and little-known places in Utah for more than twenty years.
KUER is listener-supported public radio. Support this work by making a donation today.