Milan City announced it is withdrawing from contract negotiations with the Milan Seniors for Healthy Living Wednesday Jan. 21 at the nonprofit’s first board meeting of 2026, and requested the board dissolve and the senior center merge under the city parks and recreation department.
The city and senior center have been without a contract for using the senior center for a year and a half.
Resignation
At the same meeting, Milan Seniors for Healthy Living Director MaryAnne Opal gave her resignation. In a written statement she supplied the board ahead of time, she said, “This decision has not come easily. In fact, this role has been my dream job, and serving the seniors of this community has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life.”
However, Opal added, “I have reached a point where I no longer have the energy or desire to navigate political conflicts that detract from the core purpose of serving seniors.”
In her letter, she suggested hiring a replacement in January, training in February, being on-call in March and being finished by April 1, 2026.
At the board meeting for the Milan Seniors for Healthy Living Wednesday the city asked the nonprofit to become part of the city.
City perspective
Milan’s newest councilmember Marie Gress, who previously worked for seven years at the Milan Seniors for Healthy Living, is the new senior board representative from the council. Gress is also the director of WAVE and Milan’s District #3 representative on Washtenaw County Commission on Aging.
“As I’ve oriented myself to Milan Seniors for Healthy Living, I have concerns,” Gress said. “If a contract for the millage specifically – approving the pass through of funds to Milan Seniors for Healthy Living – if it was tomorrow, I’d have concerns about it. I wouldn’t be able to give a yes vote…. Looking through a lot of your financial policies in particular – one of independent financial review or audit every year—There are no records of that.”
“With our tax funds that’s not something I can approve,” Gress said. “There’s avenues to fixing that. Do an independent review, financial review.”
Finances
Opal and the board said the seniors complete their 990 every year, have had an audit done in the past four years and are in a strong financial position.
In 2010, Milan Seniors for Healthy Living became a nonprofit when Milan City had a budget shortfall, putting senior program funding at risk. The first board of the senior center after it broke off from the city, included Sallie Bancroft and Gary Bourdeau, both of whom were also at the meeting Wednesday.
“When you talk about going back into the city, that will be one of the biggest mistakes the seniors can make,” Bourdeau said, adding, “The seniors went door-to-door to get this millage so we could have this as a nonprofit.”
“Does the city feel financially that they will be able to take on the seniors?” Board member Matt West asked.
Gress pointed to the funding already in place through the county millages, city millage and Meals on Wheels.
“Those funds are there,” Gress said.
“The senior center would have dedicated staff. There would be a senior director,” she said. “We have a lot of interest in hiring your current team.”
Response
The board set an executive meeting with an attorney for a week later to determine a response.
In 1993 Milan City opened its new Senior & Community Center, as depicted here in this July 28 issue of The Milan News.
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