The senior center committee members are people doing volunteer work and trying to do what they think is best, based on their experiences and personal beliefs.

The committee leadership has made mistakes due to either inexperience, or due to a desire to impose personal policies that they believe in.

Mistakes made:

• Choosing to focus on imposing questionable policies with excessive force, rather than on facilitating and improving senior services for members.

• The Pledge conflict brought forward many underlying committee problems.

• Choosing to permanently ban seniors for petty acts. Reminds me of banning books. Their ban process is illegal because it is arbitrary and capricious and ignores due process.

• Not calling a special meeting to address the senior’s petitions, and letters.

• Not understanding that the senior center as a public facility, due to their service connections to the community and government programs and contracts.

It is time for the senior center committee to add some new members to their committee. It would help the committee to include experienced and diverse individuals.

If any senior center committee member is unwilling to recognize these mistakes, or to add members to the committee who would add differing views and experiences then those members should resign.

Frank M. Penwell

Friday Harbor