Heating gaffe leaves Swampscott seniors in the cold

SWAMPSCOTT – Seniors playing poker at the senior center, which is located in the rear of the high school, were trying to deal cards and stay warm at the same time on Wednesday afternoon when the temperature in the center hovered in the 50 degree range.Council On Aging (COA) Director Marilyn Hurwitz said the senior center and high school share a heating unit, but the system allows each area of the building to be programmed individually.Because the schools were only open a half day on Wednesday, the temperature in the senior center dropped to approximately 55 degrees because the system had not been programmed to continue heating the senior center.”When I came in this morning (Thursday) it was 55 degrees in here,” she said. “But now we’re getting heat. It appears to be a programming issue. We need to make sure the building custodians know when the senior center is open and program the system accordingly.”School Business Manager Ed Cronin said to the best of his knowledge the heating system in the senior center is working properly.”I called over there and it was 70 degrees in the main room (on Thursday),” he said. “But I would not be surprised if there are times when the custodians are not informed of the senior center schedule so the system can be programmed.”Cronin added custodians are in the buildings on weekends and school vacations and if there were a problem the COA could ask the custodian to rectify the situation by programming the system.