Peabody Mayor Calls On Gov. Baker To Release Senior Center Funds

PEABODY, MA — Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt issued a public plea for residents to pressure Gov. Charlie Baker to release $3 million in approved bonds for the expansion of the Torigian Senior Center.

Bettencourt's request came via a Peabody TV-produced video on YouTube in which he asks residents to contact Baker's office to urge him to release the funds.

"I believe now is the right time to release these funds," he said. "The state is currently experiencing a surplus and this project is approved and shovel-ready. We just need the funding to break ground."

The funds were approved as part of the 2018 Capital Facilities Bond Bill.

Bettencourt called Peabody's senior center the "envy of our entire region" and said the expansion will include new classrooms for senior activities, energy upgrades and other building improvements.

"The Torigian Center is a hub for thousands of our older residents in Peabody and elders living nearby on the North Shore," Bettencourt said.

The mayor included Gov. Baker's office phone number on the video — which can be found here.

"The Senior Center is a wonderful and vital part of our community," Bettencourt said. “I would like Governor Baker to hear directly from Peabody residents because I think that will have a tremendous impact."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)