ROCKY HILL - The Town Council approved $10,000 for the enlistment of a consultant for the purpose of conducting a survey to assess the needs of the senior population-a potential precursor to a senior center renovation/expansion project-with all four Republican councilors casing dissenting votes while pointing to a previously conducted study.

       The 5-4 motion greenlit the hiring of Manoj Pardasani, an associate dean at Fordham University.

       Republicans said that they supported any efforts to improve senior services, but questioned the need for another study.

       â€�"Before I can support going forward with this step, I’d like to see that report brought back to life,” said Councilor Catherine Vargas. â€�"I am not against the seniors-I’m just asking questions. That $10,000 could be used to promote more of what was said in that initial report.”

       Democratic Councilor John Emmanuel, who has been an advocate for an additional study, said that the last one-completed last year-had a more general focus that included the entire Town Hall building.

       His hopes were to conduct a survey geared specifically toward seniors-not only those utilizing the Center currently, but ones that have or will.

       â€�"What we want to do first is study the current services and programs at Town Hall first,” Emmanuel said. â€�"To have an architect come in first and say we can do this before we say what we need, I think is putting the cart before the horse. This is a full gambit-a full comprehensive study of what’s going on down there.”

       The last survey-which yielded around 200 responses-did not reach the full senior population in town, he said.

       Vargas disputed the survey’s reach, saying that its publishing in the print news media should have put it before more residents.

       The previous study was done in-house to avoid having to bring in a consultant, according to Vargas.

       â€�"Why are we spending $10,000 to do this again?” said Councilor Henry Vasel.

       Pardasani holds a Ph. D, and is a nationally recognized expert on senior centers, Emmanuel said during the Senior Liaison Committee report given at the beginning of the meeting.

       A group of Rocky Hill seniors brought up the Center renovation during an earlier meeting the Senior Liaison Committee hosted to provide a public forum on the intermediate school.

       While many in the audience expressed that they would be willing to support the proposed project and other education-related initiatives, they said that they felt that issues affecting Rocky Hill’s growing elderly population seem to take a back seat to other matters.

       Emmanuel, in previous conversations, has noted that the project has been a priority for the â€�"past 13 years” or so. He said that he hopes to have hired an architect by this coming summer.