Kellett neighborhood to call second community meeting

A business inside what is mostly a residential neighborhood is a tough sell to those living in Adams subdivision and adjoining areas around the former Kellett Elementary School in Seneca.  About 25 people got to weigh in on the idea of a developer remodeling the former school building into an assisted care facility, and most said they don’t want it.  But no formal consensus was reached last night during city administrator Greg Dietterick’s presentation at the meeting in the Trinity Baptist Church.  Kellett neighborhood leaders say they will call a second meeting, from which it’s likely a position statement will be sent to city council.  Once again last night, Dietterick explained, the decision on whether Seneca sells four acres to allow developer Charles Gillespie to proceed with a 55-bed care facility belongs to the mayor and council.  The city administrator said he wants feedback from the community.  A couple of the audience members spoke harshly in their opposition, but that was followed by some conciliatory comments to the city official.  “I think we’re all open to discourse on this matter.  I think there are a lot of hot opinions,” moderator Nicole Poluzzi told 101.7/WGOG NEWS after the meeting, when asked to gauge the attitudes of last night’s audience.  Some expressed approval of Seneca’s idea to develop the remaining part of the 12 acres into a new city museum, green space, and recreation fields.