The group developing plans for a Scarborough senior center has decided it does not want to team with the YMCA and instead will try to get voter approval for its own free-standing facility in November.

The town’s two senior groups – Senior Series and Senior Voices – have joined together and formed the Scarborough Senior Center Steering Committee to develop the proposal.

While plans have not been finalized, committee members expect the building will be between 5,000 and 7,000 square feet. It will include a large meeting room and other smaller rooms for activities such as arts and crafts, computer use and exercise. There also will be a reception area and an office.

There are several reasons why the senior groups want their own facility. According to Ted Tibbals, spokesman for the steering committee, seniors feel that the two to three years projected to construct the YMCA is too long to wait. In addition, the groups are concerned about the amount of activity at the YMCA, the cost associated with becoming a member, and the organization’s religious ties.

“From our perspective there are a lot of senior needs that are different from the needs of the rest of the community,” Tibbals said, adding that the YMCA plans now being discussed do not include a facility specifically targeted to senior needs.

The steering committee is also not going to move forward with a proposal from the Southern Maine Agency on Aging, which was exploring the idea of building its Meals on Wheels kitchen at the proposed center. Currently the organization prepares its meals in Saco. The local seniors’ concerns about the addition of the kitchen facility included the added traffic and space necessary for the kitchen.

“We felt that it would interfere with the senior center,” said Marty Craine, a member of the steering committee and one of the co-founders of Senior Voices.

Steering committee members have been visiting nearby senior centers to get a feel for what they would like to have. Some of the senior centers have been part of an overall community center, while others are free-standing. But the key to all of them is that there is space dedicated to seniors where they could gather throughout the week for various activities.

Today similar space is not available in Scarborough. Instead the town’s senior organizations meet at Scarborough Downs and Hillcrest Recreation Center.

Committee members acknowledge the generosity of the two businesses for allowing them to use the property, but space is not available daily and there is some concern that the availability will decrease over time.

“There’s no place that seniors can say it’s available to us when we want it; that’s more of the big issue,” Tibbals said.

Instead the group feels they need their own place where they will have scheduling priority and be allowed to use whenever they want.

“We’re looking for something that’s available to us pretty much when we’d like to have it,” Tibbals said. “The seniors have no interest in putting a lock on the door if we’re not using it,” Tibbals said.

The senior center preliminary plans will be presented to the Town Council at its July 20 meeting. Seniors are hoping to receive council approval and have the issue placed on the November ballot for voter approval. Costs for the facility have not been calculated, but seniors would like to keep the cost under $1 million.

Organizers are quick to point out that they have supported many large projects in town, including the high school construction project as well as smaller bonds for fire stations and other public facilities.

“We’ve supported all of those and we’ll go and ask people to support one for us,” Craine said. “We’re not asking for an elaborate place.”

If approved, the new facility will be built on a piece of town-owned land next to the municipal offices in Oak Hill. The land was previously offered to the YMCA, which declined the offer because it felt the land was too small for the Y’s needs.

Front row: Linda Bidler and Elizabeth McCann. Back row: Kaye Dillon, Ted Tibbals and Carol Wakem. Missing when picture was taken: Marty Craine and Sharon Theofrastou.