Milwaukee County Releases Report on the Future Needs of Senior Center Facilities

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Department of Administrative Services (DAS) have released a new report highlighting the current state and future needs of County-owned senior centers.

Milwaukee County’s five Senior Centers and two Wil-O-Way facilities continue to provide valued opportunities for connection, health, learning, and inclusion for older adults and persons with disabilities. These sites reflect Milwaukee County’s long-standing commitment to wellness, equity, and dignity for the people we serve. However, Milwaukee County faces broad constraints in maintaining and improving the facilities: significant deferred maintenance across its infrastructure that is estimated at more than $1 billion, limited borrowing capacity, property tax levy limits, and demand for other public-services that are feeling the same inflationary pressures.

Conditions across the seven facilities are challenged, with many systems beyond their useful lives. In the report, Milwaukee County identified five-year capital needs exceeding $23.5 million and a projected 20-year requirement approaching $55 million. At the County’s current rate of investment—averaging less than $1 million annually—the long-term funding gap could surpass $37 million. This level of deferred maintenance threatens their continued operation.

The report reads, “The County’s five senior centers and two Wil-o-Ways facilities (all located in county parks) serve as one of the most visible public-programming platforms for serving community needs. The facilities, all more than 40 years old, are reaching an age and condition that demand near-term and substantial investment if they are to continue to be part of Milwaukee County’s facilities portfolio. Facility structures and systems are approaching or already beyond their useful lives.”

To meet the estimated 20-year capital need across the facilities, Milwaukee County would need to allocate approximately $2,740,000 per year without adjustment for inflation. That’s $2.2 million more than is invested by Milwaukee County in these facilities each year. It’s important to reiterate that these capital projects compete against other worthwhile capital projects throughout Milwaukee County. This underscores the need for greater partnership and creative solutions to ensure the services and programming currently available at Milwaukee County senior centers remain available for the community in the years to come.

Milwaukee County also faces a capital backlog estimated at more than $1 billion. Thin staffing capacity and limited capital funding have contributed to the growing backlog of deferred maintenance at each of the seven Senior Center and Wil-O-Way facilities, consistent with trends seen across the County’s broader property portfolio.

Milwaukee County currently manages seven facilities, including:

• Clinton Rose Senior Center
• Kelly Senior Center + Kelly Nutrition Building
• McGovern Park Senior Center
• Washington Park Senior Center
• Wilson Park Senior Center
• Wil-O-Way Grant
• Wil-O-Way Underwood

Both the Wisconsin Policy Forum’s Young at Heart report and the Commission on Aging’s MKE HUBS report affirm that Milwaukee County must reimagine how it delivers services for older adults through new partnerships, shared facilities, diversified funding, and more inclusive, modern spaces. The report helps to ensure shared understanding of these concerns and the current unstainable fiscal path before Milwaukee County.

The full report is available HERE.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.