SAUGUS — Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano has proposed renaming the Saugus Senior Center after longtime resident Richard “Dick” Barry, who died in October at the age of 89.
Earlier this month, at Cogliano’s urging, an article requesting the center be renamed the Richard Barry Senior Center was submitted by the town’s Board of Selectmen to be added to the warrant for the upcoming February 16 special Town Meeting.
“I knew Dick my whole life, from when I was a kid,” Cogliano said, recalling Barry’s heavy involvement in youth sports, including his time volunteering for Saugus Little League, CYO Basketball, and serving as the announcer for the town’s high school football and basketball games. “He was just everywhere.”
Barry was a fixture in the community and spent decades serving on the Saugus Board of Selectmen, School Committee, and Town Meeting.
He and Cogliano served together on the town’s Board of Selectmen when Cogliano was first appointed to the board in 1991 at age 24.
“He was a great resource for me as someone with all that knowledge and wisdom,” Cogliano said. “If I had questions, I could go to him any time. He was just a good mentor.”
In 1995, the board began to implement its Capital Improvements Plan, which centered around a number of local projects that included renovations at Town Hall, a new police and fire station, a new Department of Public Works building, and a new senior center on Central Street.
Each selectman spearheaded a different branch of the plan, and Cogliano said Barry served as an enthusiastic liaison between the board and the town when it came to the Saugus Senior Center’s construction.
Barry would later become president of the town’s Council on Aging.
“Dick just really championed it. He did a great job and was heavily involved at the center,” Cogliano said. “I’ve thought of putting Dick’s name on that building for years. When he passed away, I thought it would be a great honor for him.”
It may be too soon to tell, but Cogliano expressed confidence that the motion will pass unanimously at the special Town Meeting, where it will be discussed along with a request to form a committee that would explore revitalizing Cliftondale Square and a motion to create a modified business highway sustainable development district along Route 1.
“For the amount of service he gave to the community, it’s a no-brainer,” Cogliano said. “He deserves to have his name on that building.”
