NEWTON FALLS — After being located for several years in the Lordstown Elementary School building off Salt Springs Road, SCOPE will leave this summer to a new location in Newton Falls, creating a regional senior center in the western part of the county.

Mike Wilson, executive director of SCOPE, said the new regional center will be located in the new Newton Falls municipal building, expected to open this summer at the former First Congregational Church off West Broad Street.

“We are very excited about the move and look forward to our new site in Newton Falls. We are focusing more on regionalization in the county, and this location will provide us with a good opportunity,” he said.

Wilson said the Newton Falls location will have a dedicated area for the senior center.

He said while the Lordstown site did serve the needs of the community for a time, the location was not air conditioned, so it becomes very hot. Attendance also was declining.

“Half the people who were there were not from Lordstown. There were people from Newton Falls and other locations. We are focusing more on regionalization,” Wilson said.

He said SCOPE can’t afford two sites that close together, so the decision was made to close Lordstown.

The Silver Sneakers program is expected to continue in Newton Falls and will be open to seniors residing in Lordstown, Braceville, Newton Falls, Warren and Newton.

SCOPE will offer Lordstown seniors transportation to the Newton Falls center, Wilson said.

SCOPE notified village officials and the board of education that the center is leaving and moving to Newton Falls,

The Lordstown Board of Education last week discussed SCOPE leaving the school building and heard from resident Mark McGrail of plans by a group of Lordstown seniors to open its own senior center. The group is pursuing funding options.

“This would be a new senior group that would not be sponsored by SCOPE. The new organization is in the process of being formed and incorporated,” McGrail said.

Interim district Superintendent Lew Lowery said the residents are looking for a rent-free space, possibly the room where SCOPE was.

“The seniors support the school levies, so we can support them back,” board member Carla Click said.

Lordstown Elementary Principal Rich Zigarovich said the room used for SCOPE will not be converted to a school classroom because of security reasons.

“I would not feel comfortable having students in that room and using it for a classroom,” he said.

In addition to the western SCOPE location, plans are being developed for a SCOPE center in eastern Trumbull County in the Brookfield area.

Brookfield Trustee Gary Lees is spearheading an effort to bring a senior center to the township to serve senior citizens in Brookfield, Vienna and Hartford townships. The township has a van to offer seniors transportation, but trustees said they want to do more for their older residents.

“Anytime we can broaden our reach and expand our footprint, it’s a good thing. We are open to talking to them,” Wilson said.

The banquet hall at the fire department is not being used and trustees said they believe that may be a good place for the center, said Dan Suttles, Brookfield trustee.

“The senior levy money is not just for the cities — it’s for the townships, too. We need to know exactly where that money is going and then we can talk about building a senior center,” Lees said.