By Sara Withee
(Aug. 20, 2026) – The Senior Center Building Committee met last week and voted to pre-qualify contractors. The committee also reviewed two maps associated with the ongoing state environmental review process.
Ready to retire the current senior center, residents approved a debt exclusion to finance a new building last Fall. Since then, the Town of Ayer and the Senior Center Building Committee have moved forward with planning. In April, the Planning Board opened public hearings and in June, went onto approve the Site Plan Review Decision and Major Stormwater Management Permit.
Now, the town must complete the environmental permitting process.
Environmental. The Senior Center Building Committee was shown two maps at Thursday’s meeting. We are not showing these. We didn’t take copies from the meeting.
The Town of Ayer has a 76-acre DPW property and has proposed building the new senior center on about 3.36 acres off Bishop Road (also known as MacPherson Road) as it approaches Devens.
On June 30th, the Town of Ayer filed an EENF – or Expanded Environmental Notification Form – related to this project. This was posted on the MEPA website. MEPA stands for Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act office. Here is a link to the materials, as of Aug. 22nd.
This mentions an Environmental Impact Report and notes environmental justice populations within the one-mile area.
After the filing, the local group PACE advertised a public walk in July. A few building committee members have worked with the town’s environmental consultant and others associated with the state review.
Last week, when the Senior Center Building Committee was shown these maps, there were two noted areas. Per the presentation, 4.42 acres will be developed (counting the senior center and utilities) and 8.84 acres of adjacent land would be set aside for conservation – twice as much as the developed area.
While the maps offer a snapshot, a building committee member reflected on an extensive process up to now, many meetings, documents and different professionals.
From the Town of Ayer’s June 30th EENF Filing
According to the filing, the town was required to submit an EENF as this project requires a disturbance of more than 2 acres within the designated Priority Habitat (the MassWildlife Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program). The project will also work within a designated Area of Critical Environmental Concern. There was mention of the Squannassit Area of Critical Environmental Concern.
There are known rare species on the site and these are the Blanding’s Turtle and the New England Blazing Star, a rare purple flower that blooms from late August to October.
The 8.84 acres would be set aside to protect the contiguous forested wetland system with a permanent Conservation Restriction. The proposed conservation land sits along the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge, managed by U.S. Fish & Wildlife, and includes an area of unfragmented combination of uplands and wetlands, the filing noted.
While the project triggers the above-mentioned environmental reviews, it doesn’t meet any thresholds related to wetland reviews. New materials are expected to be published soon through the state’s environmental monitor.