Dear Editor,
On behalf of the Langley Senior Resources Society, we would like to thank the City of Langley for its generous contributions.
For the past 20 years, we have been grateful for the City’s annual contribution to help with the ongoing costs associated with running the centre, and in particular, assistance in paying down our mortgage.
We were pleased, but somewhat surprised by the motion put forward at the December council meeting to pay off the existing mortgage early, so that we will not have that cost past 2014.
Many people associate a mortgage being paid off with all of the debt, funding concerns, and operational cost pressures disappearing. Unfortunately, that is not true in our case, because of the growing demographic of seniors in the Langley area and an increasing membership looking to us to provide much needed services that are not available from the City or Township of Langley.
Financially, we continue to struggle on a monthly basis, as the costs to run our services continue to increase.
Although we find support and grants for specific programs such as Better at Home or our Adult Day Program, funding for operational issues such as heat, light, maintenance, and repairs is much more difficult to acquire.
Along with general operational concerns, we also have to plan for the fact that our 20-year-old building and its equipment are in need of repairs, updating, and ultimately, replacement.
Hence, we will have an ongoing need to rely on our members and the community for sponsorship and donations to help us continue to provide vital programs and services for the Seniors of Langley, and the operation of the Seniors Centre as we go forward.
Once again, we would like to thank the City of Langley for its past support and commitment, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the City to ensure a mutually beneficial quality of life is assured for all the Seniors in Langley.
Shauna Sailer and Barb Stack, Langley Senior Resources Society