From left, Mayor Chad Emrick presents Verona Enoch the key to the city during Thursday evening’s Vienna City Council meeting. Enoch will celebrate her 100th birthday on Sunday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

VIENNA — Vienna City Council held their regularly scheduled meeting Thursday evening, with discussion focused on the Vienna Senior Center and Wellness Center and one council member questioning another’s residency.

During the public forum, Councilman Henry Sasyn addressed his concerns that included unresolved issues surrounding Jackson Park property covenants, drilling locations at the former Johns Manville site and property ownership transfers that he described as a “black box.”

Sasyn also questioned the residency of Councilman Jim Leach, questioning whether a specific address was a legitimate residence.

“Everybody’s been asking, do people live where they say they live?” Sasyn said, referring to election paperwork Leach filed listing his address as 1711 Grand Central Ave. “To me, that doesn’t look like a residence. To a lot of people, it doesn’t look like a residence. Let’s resolve it.”

“I’ve been investigated, probably based on your complaints, by (the) Secretary of State,” Leach said. “I’ve given a report, statement … I’ve had two investigators come to where I live. I’ve shown them all this information, most of this you’ve done behind my back.

Vienna City Councilman Jim Leach discusses the future of the city’s senior and wellness center during Thursday’s council meeting. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

“If you just had the guts to just come and say, ‘Jim, hey, look, I have a question about this. Can you explain it to me,’ I would do that. That’s just not your M.O,” he said.

The forum also featured passionate comments from senior residents concerned about rumored changes to the age requirement at the Vienna Senior Center.

“I’m 82 years old,” said Roger Wilcox. “There are some things in life you don’t mess with: God, country, grandma and apple pie. Leave the senior center alone.”

Kim Williams, a former council member, provided historical context, explaining that the center originated in 1982 and once had a computer lab and access to upstairs meeting spaces, amenities she said were lost after the COVID-19 pandemic. She voiced support for reviving the senior association as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Another resident, Vicki Squires, urged council not to lower the age requirement from 55 to 50. “We have a great group of people there,” she said. “I don’t look at a 55-year-old as a senior. I think it should stay at 55.”

Patricia White echoed that sentiment.

“It’s not a community center. It’s a senior center,” she said, alleging that children and young adults had been using the space, including individuals as young as 18.

Later in the meeting, Mayor Chad Emrick reassured citizens that the senior center discussion was not to change the age requirement but to discuss programming to attract citizens to attend the center. Emrick also stated that he is partnering with the center to address the storage issues and revitalize a computer lab.

“We need to get the center back in line,” Councilwoman Tami Rhodes said. “It’s supposed to serve seniors, but many classes aren’t appropriate for that age group. We need more programming tailored to their needs, like low-impact cardio, line dancing and true beginner classes.”

Leach brought up his own concerns about potentially changing the age requirement for the center.

“It sounds like we’ve built a thriving community around these fitness classes,” said Leach. “If we’re going to limit access to the Senior Center, we need to make sure we’re not leaving these residents with nowhere to go.”

The discussion concluded with broad agreement on the need to develop a thoughtful, inclusive plan that respects the center’s original mission while also serving the evolving needs of the wider Vienna community.

Also during the meeting, Verona Enoch, who has been a Vienna resident for over 80 years, was inducted as the first member of the newly created Vienna Golden Society. The society is an honor reserved for citizens who reach their 100th birthday. Enoch, who turns 100 on Sunday, was presented with a certificate and a ceremonial key to the city, which, Emrick joked, “doesn’t go to absolutely anything.”

The next Vienna City Council meeting will be a special meeting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in council chambers to lay the levy rates.

Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com.