A large senior center in Salt Lake City, which is undergoing renovation, is now set to permanently close after a heated, partisan debate over funding in the Salt Lake County Council.
The County Council, which has a slight Republican majority, voted 5-4 along party lines on Tuesday to recommend the closure of the 10th East Senior Center, at 237 S. 1000 East, in Salt Lake City, three years after it approved a $10 million reconstruction of the center. Reconstruction began in September, with approximately $3 million in funds already spent, according to the county.
Those in favor of the measure to close the center argue that it will save the county millions amid difficult budget decisions, while those opposed contend that it squanders millions and betrays public trust.
“I don’t know of a time at the county we’ve ever reversed a decision like this. ... I just think this is just a bridge too far,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, a Democrat, who didn’t have a vote on the matter.
Handling rising costs
Salt Lake County initially approved the 10th East Senior Center renovations in 2022, and many of its residents were relocated to Liberty Senior Center, at 251 E. 700 South, a few blocks away, county officials said. It provided service for nearly 600 seniors before the project began.
Salt Lake County Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton, a Republican, proposed to permanently close the 10th East Senior Center after Salt Lake County Aging and Adult Services officials unveiled their 2026 budget request. The county division is seeking $926,000 in new funding this year to meet the growing demands for services and the increasing costs associated with providing them.
There’s been a “substantial increase” in older adults across the county, as Salt Lake County’s senior population rose by 19% over the past five years. Projections indicate that the senior population will grow by 28% in the next decade, while there’s no promise of state funding in the future, which complicates future funding, division officials said.
While she believes the community will be “angry,” the 10th East and Liberty centers are “very close together,” and the 10th East facility is currently closed, so the measure won’t kick people out, Winder Newton said. The move, she said, should save $400,000 a year in ongoing costs, plus the millions not spent in remodeling, adding that seeing the $10 million renovation price tag makes her “sick to my stomach.”
Her motion was seconded by Councilwoman Laurie Stringham, both of whom were on the County Council when it approved funding for the center’s remodel. Stringham said changes in funding and help from the federal government have changed over the past three years, which is why she supports the building closure now.
“Sometimes hindsight is twenty-twenty. If we had known the way things were going to be now, we would have made different decisions back then,” she said. “But we didn’t know, and now we’re dealing with a different situation.”
A fiscal debate
Council Democrats fired back, calling it “fiscally irresponsible” because $3 million had already been spent on a project that now won’t be completed.
“You’re saying there’s a savings, but you’re actually sinking $3 million in costs — of the taxpayers’ dollars — with this motion. That’s just not going to be recoverable,” said Councilman Jiro Johnson, adding that residents had also been promised that the building would reopen in 18 months when the project began.
He and colleagues said they’re concerned that the motion was given without “sufficient notice” for the public to weigh in on the plan. The debate took place a week after members voted to slash a child care program from the budget, which sparked outrage from residents who said the vote came without warning.
“We’re pissing off our people who are young and have families and who are trying to have kids, and then we’re going to other age ranges and making them upset, as well,” he said. “This is wrong.”
Councilwoman Suzanne Harrison added that the measure “doesn’t make sense,” and that such discussions should have been made before the $10 million was allocated in 2022.
The next steps
Wilson asked the county to consider reviewing operations at county facilities — one of the primary factors in the push to close the Salt Lake City building — instead of closing the center. But closing the facility could help improve efficiencies as maintenance costs rise at over a dozen county senior centers across the valley, said Salt Lake County Council Chairwoman Dea Theodore, a Republican.
“I know it’s hard, but I think that we can make this work,” she said before voting to approve the closure. “This is an efficient thing to do.”
The closure won’t be official until the budget is finalized in December, so residents can still comment on the plan, council members noted. While the 10th East Senior Center was operated by the county, the building is owned by Salt Lake City. Winder Newton said the property will go back to the city for future consideration, barring a change in plans.
Salt Lake City officials are aware of the vote, but did not have an immediate comment on the matter.