About 30 people sat in the heat at the Unitarian Universalist Church to partake in a forum on The Meadows project, co-sponsored by the Otsego County Democratic Committee and Otsego County Republican Committee. At the present site, which houses 174 seniors, some residents are living four to a room. What we want to do is create a better setting. The county board, said Rep. John Nader, D-Oneonta, is concerned with aiding the county's seniors. It was really the physical structure of the building and the quality of the care we felt the residents deserve.
New plans call for increased amenities and a home style, rather than an institutional setting.
Irene Mangulis, a social worker at The Meadows for seven years, said people are becoming more selective when choosing a facility. They want services. And I could go on and on. As a public nonprofit facility, the project will be funded by the state. Under the formula, the state will pay 90 percent of the project cost, plus everything but the interest on the remaining 10 percent.