Following the purchase of the building, it was manned by city staff for a while as a way to keep doors open and assure the city’s senior citizens had a “center.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
In May, city leaders began first steps in establishing an event center manager to oversee the former Central Connections stating it would remain in city stewardship.
Enter Angie Smith, a former teacher with civic experience working as the director of marketing for the Mason-Deerfield Chamber of Commerce, executive director of the Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce and community outreach and event coordinator for the Warren County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
Smith started her job as manager of the newly renamed Event Center of Middletown the first of September and has been explaining the name change and concept ever since.
“The city cares enough about their seniors to keep the doors open as a place for seniors to socialize, but it does require some revenue,” Smith said.
All the rooms are available for event rentals including business meetings, conferences, showers, graduation parties and even weddings. There is a full functioning kitchen for use by caterers. Rental fees go to pay for senior programing.
“This is beautiful building. It is a great space and location. You name it, we can host it,” Smith said. ”The neat thing that separates us from other event rental spaces is the revenue from the event rental goes back into senior programing. So when you are writing that check for an event space it is more of a peace of mind that the money is going to go back to the seniors.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Smith and administrative assistant Antoinette Coleman run the center coordinating senior activities and event scheduling.
“It’s constantly a revolving door of people and activities,” Smith said. She estimated about 300 people participate in various activities weekly.
Activities include yoga, chair volleyball, various dice and card games, billiards, a workout room, social hours, book clubs, arts and crafts or just to “hanging out.”
The center does not offer meals, but Smith said, “they feed each other” with carry ins and coffee carts.
Currently there is no fee, but in 2025 there will again be an $80 annual fee per person for senior activities. Smith said the seniors have paid a fee in the past and know they will again next year. She noted it gives them some sense of “ownership” in the facility.
Also next year some evening programing will be added at the request of the seniors, which Smith refers to as 50 years and up, including line dancing.
While the building is an event center, “it is also our senior center. That never goes away,” said Acting City Manager Nathan Cahall.
“When the city purchased the property, we had a goal of just providing basic services for our seniors,” Cahall said. Then staff was tasked with developing a sustainability plan without relying totally on the general fund every year.
“We have the good fortune of a facility, which we have fixed up a bit more since taking ownership, that can run as a nice event center. So the idea is the revenue generated by those rentals after covering our costs will be utilized by the city to provide existing and improved programing for our seniors,” Cahall said.
Middletown Police Chief Earl Nelson said the investigation into the former director and alleged missing money is complete and in the hands of the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutor Michael Gmoser called the investigation file “voluminous.”
“The Middletown Police Department has conducted a complete investigation and it has been submitted to my office,” Gmoser told the Journal-News. “It is thorough and it has been submitted to my economic fraud unit for review. It is not the only case we have pending, it will take some time to review the material.”
More information about event rental and pricing can be found at http://theeventcenterofmiddletown.com/
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