Will County Close McGovern Senior Center?

McGovern Park Senior Center. Photo taken May 24, 2020 by Jeramey Jannene.

Buried in a county budget report is the first sign that the McGovern Park Senior Center could eventually be closed, now that the county board killed a plan to rebuild it.

The ad-hoc Capital Improvements Committee received a report Wednesday from an internal county committee that evaluates existing county facilities. The report did not recommend repairs to the McGovern basement for consideration in the upcoming budget, nor to the roof at two Wil-O-Way facilities in Grant Park and the Underwood Creek Parkway that provide programming for children with disabilities.

The report is providing an advisory recommendation only; nothing in it is binding. But it suggests policymakers shouldn’t consider the projects during the 2026 budget process because of “potential changes to operating and maintenance strategy.”

A spokesperson for County Executive David Crowley told Urban Milwaukee the administration is looking for long term solutions for the buildings given the county’s massive maintenance needs and relatively minuscule maintenance budget.

Over the next five years, it’s estimated the county will need approximately $1 billion to keep up with maintenance and infrastructure needs. It won’t come close to having that level of funding, though. In 2026, county departments have requested $196 million worth of projects, but the county will only have funding for $71 million, leaving 64% of requests unfunded.

“County Executive Crowley and his administration continue working to identify long-term plans for these facilities, prior to any final decisions on future capital investments,” his Communications Director Jonathan Fera told Urban Milwaukee. “As we enter the annual budget season, the County Executive remains mindful of the competing priorities and fiscal constraints in this upcoming budget and beyond. We look forward to engaging with the Board, community partners, and residents to develop creative, community-centered solutions to these challenges, but tough decisions will be needed in the years ahead.”

In June, the Crowley administration proposed partnering with Jewish Family Services (JFS) to rebuild the McGovern Park Senior Center with affordable housing units on top. JFS is a non-profit social service organization that has experience developing and managing supportive housing. The non-profit would have provided all the financing for the project, saving taxpayers the expense of building a new senior center.

But a majority of the board rejected the project, because the project included the development of affordable senior housing on parkland.

During meetings in June, the administration was clear about its concern that the county won’t be able to afford to maintain all of the senior centers. Crowley even released a statement saying “funding isn’t available to address the maintenance issues at the current facility, and it will continue to fall in disrepair.”

Multiple county departments worked on the project. They told supervisors, repeatedly, that the county cannot afford to continue maintaining its building footprint. Just the maintenance of senior facilities could cost approximately $20 million over the next five years. The partnership with JFS was intended to take McGovern off the county’s overloaded plate, fiscally speaking, while preserving the senior center and its programming.

Over the past decade and a half, the county has divested millions of square feet of building space. The parks system has begun shuttering and disposing of facilities it can no longer afford to maintain. The McGovern center would not be the first time facilities staff have said a building is so old, and needs so many repairs, it’s not feasible for the county to sink more money into it.

Given the recent, contentious debate over the senior center project, Sup. Shawn Rolland, who voted in favor of the McGovern project, tried to get an answer at committee about whether the budget report represented the administration’s official policy toward the McGovern and Wil-O-Way projects.

Peter Nilles, director of facilities planning and development, told the committee he couldn’t answer the question and would work with county staff to provide a formal response.

Rolland suggested a formal report should be submitted, including an explanation of what would happen to the programming if the buildings are shuttered. “It just feels like the wrong way to roll out a policy decision that is so significant,” Rolland said.

Sup. Steve Taylor agreed that a formal report from the administration is warranted. But he wasn’t shocked to see a recommendation not to invest further in the dilapidated senior center.

“I mean, based on the McGovern debate, the writing’s on the wall with these senior facilities… these are aging buildings,” he said. “So this is not a surprise.”

After the meeting, Rolland told Urban Milwaukee there needs to be a transparent, public discussion about the plan for the senior centers and the Wil-O-Way facilities in light of the recent report.

“But for now, all we have is a short term report that says maintaining these facilities is not recommended, and if that’s the case, then eventually they will decay and run into issues where they’ll have to be closed down,” Rolland said. “I guess a lack of a plan is still a plan, it’s just not a good one.”

The Easter Seals organization runs a program for children with special needs at the Wil-O-Way facility in Rolland’s district. It provides summer activities for the children and respite for the parents, Rolland said.

“Those parents have spoke to me about it and just said this is so valuable to them and valuable to their kids,” he said.

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