North Haven senior citizens will have to wait a little longer to enjoy their newly renovated senior center.

The center, closed since July for renovations, was slated to be ready for occupancy before the 2009 Christmas holidays. After delays pushed the opening into 2010, First Selectman Michael Freda said at the Jan. 7 Board of Selectman meeting that he was pushing for a Feb. 1 renovation completion date.

However, center director Judy Amarone said last week that March 1 was a “safe and conservative” estimate for when senior citizens can begin to occupy the 189 Pool Road building.

“There are a lot of little quirky things left,” Amarone said. “Sometimes the little things take more time than the big things.”

Amarone said that these small matters included the contractors installing weather stripping on the doors, touching up the interior paint job, and waxing the floors.

The contractors still need to test the center’s emergency generator, Amarone added, which they will do this weekend. “What a perfect time to test the generator,” Amarone said, “when the weather is cold.”

Amarone was also waiting to receive the center’s certificate of occupancy (CO). “I anticipate it by Monday,” Amarone said.

“The movers could go into the center right now,” Amarone added. “The certificate would allow the seniors to go in.”

The certificate was authorized after a successful inspection of the center on Jan. 28 by North Haven building official Dave Maiden and Deputy Fire Chief Frank Gersz.

“There was nothing major,” Maiden said of the inspection. “There were a few issues that will be addressed by Saturday [Jan. 31]. Testing the generator is the only major issue. The rest is cleanup and little details.”

Maiden said that remainder of the delay was simply due to the time it will take for Amarone, her staff and the seniors to move back into the center, which was gutted during renovations.

“The movers are coming in on Feb. 9,” Maiden said. “I think it will take a few days to get everything set up.”

Maiden added that it will take some time to set up the internet and phone lines.

After the center’s office supplies, desks and furniture are moved in by mid-February, Amarone said, the staff will move in and organize their offices and classrooms in a staggered fashion.

The center will have a “soft” opening, Amarone added, and will also stagger senior citizen classes and activities at first. “That way, not everyone will rush in at once,” she said.

The center’s renovation, funded through a $750,000 Small Cities Block grant from the state Department of Economic Development, gutted and refurbished the center, and expanded the structure with an 875-square-foot addition, which extended into the space where the storage garages used to be.

“It was way overdue,” Amarone said of the renovation. “The building was deteriorating. There was asbestos in the flooring. We had termites. The floors were down to cement with trenches cut out. Safety was a big issue.”

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