To the Editor:

It’s been almost three months now since town meeting voters approved another article supporting the creation of a new community center at the Decas School, but in the time since, despite the best efforts of the steering committee and other community leaders, there has been virtually no progress since the town meeting vote. 

As of today, the building remains in good condition, the Council on Aging is ready to move in at any time and numerous organizations have already sent letters of interest hoping to rent space in the Decas school building. One such organization includes South Shore Community Action Council, looking at Decas as a potential location for Head Start. 

Yet even as the Decas Community Center project is ready to move forward the process remains at a standstill. The reason why is simple- the project cannot move forward until Town Administrator Derek Sullivan issues the necessary Requests For Proposal (RFPs) to formally seek interest from potential tenants. 

While there is certainly some value to the town’s slower and more deliberate approach, this is not a case where we can afford to waste time. The longer it takes for Derek Sullivan to issue the RFPs, the more interested organizations will start to look elsewhere, including South Shore Community Action, potentially forcing Head Start to leave Wareham altogether. 

The Decas Community Center has been delayed long enough. The people of Wareham await action. It’s time for Town Administrator Sullivan to issue the RFPs and allow the project to move forward.

Jared Fredrickson