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Lapeer's older citizens have become frequent visitors to the weekly gatherings in an attempt to persuade county leaders to finance a bigger meeting place with additional parking.

County Commissioners subsidize meeting places for seniors in the Annex Building in Lapeer and the Lamb-Steele building in Imlay City with a portion of the senior citizen millage. County leaders use most of the millage to pay for services such as meals on wheels and in house care to aid seniors who wish to live in their own homes.

Addressing the board during public time, Bonnie Kavalunas, of Lapeer, said local senior citizens have outgrown the Lapeer meeting place.

Disabled persons have a hard time with the steps, said Dorothy Branch, a "junior senior."

"There's no place for seniors to go," said Mary Oliver, of Lapeer, adding that other communities such as Clio and Burton have nice senior citizen centers.

Those centers were developed by local municipalities; the county budget could never finance a county wide center, said County Commissioner Lenny Schneider.

"We share as many frustrations as you do," said Schneider. "The only thing we have is a small senior millage. The majority of that is used for in home services."

Many other seniors addressed county leaders.

"We have new people joining, and we have our regulars," said an unidentified woman. "We need help; our hands are tied. We have residents going to other counties."

"I love going to the senior center," said Geneva Carpenter. "It's a nice place to go. A lot of us can't afford to go anywhere else."

Commissioner Ian Kempf encouraged the group to speak with their municipalities.

"The Almont seniors have an active program," said Kempf. "They meet in the meeting room two to three times a week and play cards. Some of the township halls have nice facilities and maybe it could be a joint effort."

Commissioner Cheryl Clark said she and fellow Commissioner Linda Jarvis were continuing to look for new location.

"If you know of a church or a township hall, call us and we'll be glad to facilitate a meeting," said Schneider. "We haven't found the perfect solution."

Susan Younger may be reached at (810)664-0811, ext. 8122 or susan.younger@lapeergroup.com