Southwick Council on Aging Approves 2040 Master Plan, Launches Senior Movie Theater

SOUTHWICK -- April 13, 2026, Southwick's Council on Aging approved its Southwick 2040 master plan chapter and put town officials on notice that election-day closures at the senior center must end after November 2026. The board voted 6-0 to accept the master plan progress report at its April 13 meeting, then heard Senior Center Director Lisa describe a formal ultimatum delivered to town administration: pool tables removed for three 2026 elections will be reinstalled after the November vote and will not come down again, with two of three selectmen reportedly supportive of relocating polling to another site. Each removal-and-reinstallation cycle costs approximately $500 plus releveling fees. The meeting also unveiled a new community movie theater launching May 1 for groups of up to six seniors at no charge, announced the addition of a chair yoga session with instructor Heidi on Wednesday mornings, and outlined a front-desk position restructured from 20 to 15 hours per week, with SHINE Medicare counseling shifted to insurance-company volunteers, saving the town an undisclosed portion of the former salary line. Staff also reported cutting the center's $6,000 annual newsletter mailing cost by converting roughly 270 of 900 mailing-list households to email delivery.