The Enfield Senior Center has been awarded $101,500 from the American Rescue Plan Act by the Connecticut Department of Aging and Disability Services, and will be using it to update the equipment in its fitness center.

Senior Center Manager Mary Keller said there was already a plan to address the aging equipment by replacing one piece, the oldest, of machinery each year, as part of the town’s regular budget and or capital improvements. This grant will allow for many of the pieces of equipment to be replaced, some of which run several thousands of dollars.

Gov. Ned Lamont and Aging and Disability Services Commissioner Amy Porter announced that this was part of $10 million in funding given to the State from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). These funds can be used for a variety of programming and capital improvements.

Nine million dollars of the state’s funding is being distributed to senior centers across the state. Enfield is still in the process of applying for the funding, and must provide specifics, in order to comply with the federal regulations for how the funds can be used.

“It’s a 28 or 30 page application,” Keller said. “We’re doing our due diligence on that, and then seeing if it gets accepted. It takes a while to make sure you have everything you need to approve that, but they give us a year to do it.”

“We’ve been trying to come up with a game plan of how to replace the fitness center equipment,” Keller said. “It’s not as old as the building, but some of the pieces are older and get a lot of use. When we heard we were getting the ARPA money, we decided to use that.”

Keller said she’s begun talking with equipment supply companies, and will be putting together a budget of what specific pieces need replacement. The Friends of the Enfield Senior Center recently purchased a new step machine to donate to the center, which cost $7,000.

“We’ll be looking at how expensive the machines are right now, and realistically, how many we can afford to purchase,” she said. “The last time we got a quote, a treadmill is about $12,000. We were trying to come up with a replacement plan, as to whether we replace one piece per year. But, we’re going to try to replace as many as we can with that money.”

The senior center is also looking into a new payment system, which will allow for patrons to pay for programs via credit card. Falling under the category of programming, this is another allowed use for the ARPA funds.

Keller said the senior center is recovering well from COVID. Attendance has steadily increased, and nearly all programs have been restored to pre-pandemic levels. The Enfield Senior Center just celebrated the 20th anniversary of its new building, and is completing plans for the rest of the summer.

Lamont said, “Connecticut’s cities and towns do a great job supporting older adults through the operations of their senior centers, which provide incredibly valuable services to many residents statewide. Being able to expand that crucial support through upgraded facilities and modernized services to keep older adults actively involved in their communities and connected to local services.”

“These types of grants help the overall budget picture,” said Mayor Bob Cressotti. “We were not able to fund this request during the budget deliberations, but now this grant will ensure that the fitness center is brought up to the standards we want for the senior center.”

For more information, visit www.enfield-ct.gov.