SHELBURNE FALLS — After more than a decade of planning, the West County Senior Services District has officially come to fruition.

Creating a district that is independent from parent towns Ashfield, Buckland and Shelburne while providing the same level of services and leaving room for expansion required volunteers to be “positive, patient and persistent,” said Sylvia Smith, chair of the West County Senior Services District’s board of managers during the board’s first official meeting on July 1.

“We’re ready to take the plunge to operate as a district,” Smith said. “It’s been quite a ride.”

During the meeting, board members unanimously voted to join the Franklin Regional Retirement System, elected officers, hired staff whose positions with the town of Shelburne had been officially terminated at midnight on July 1, and signed a new one-year lease with the Massachusetts Freemasons— essentially completing the last few steps needed to become a district.

The board still needs to sign contracts with its vendors, such as accounting software VADAR Systems, but will be able to operate under letters of intent in the meantime.

Until July 1, the Senior Center operated under a consortium of the three towns, with Shelburne acting as fiscal agent. Board members and members of each town’s council on aging stated that they had wanted to end the consortium and create a district to expand, add more services and potentially include more towns, as well as open up the possibility of owning property and building a Senior Center in the future. The district currently rents space at the Mountain Lodge of Masons on Main Street in Shelburne Falls.

To do this required jumping over more hurdles than originally anticipated, including getting approval from Town Meetings, petitioning the state Legislature and creating bylaws. But at long last, the district is operational.

“This is a dream that led to a rude awakening. But it’s still alive,” said Ellen Eller, chair of the Buckland Council on Aging. “We’re inventing a new system for seniors.”

While the Senior Center is managed by the district, each of the three towns has, and will maintain, its own council on aging. The councils will allow each town to continue planning and hosting programs and events specific to the community’s residents, in addition to the regional services and events available at the center.

Senior Center Director Juli Moreno said the change in the governmental structure of how the center is managed will not alter the existing services and programming available. Bingo and knitting will still be on Thursdays, yoga on Wednesdays, and residents of the three towns can still access mental and physical health services, transportation, and assistance in navigating federal and state benefit programs.

She added that the transition was difficult, but thanks to the center’s staff and volunteers, they made it through and are now prepared to continue on to the next phase: expanding services.

“The goal is to become as collaborative as we can and see how many West County towns we can serve,” Moreno said. “We’re in a good spot.”

Moreno said she hopes the center will be able to work with other towns, councils on aging and organizations to not only add to and expand the events and programming available to residents of Ashfield, Buckland and Shelburne, but to open the doors to seniors from other towns as well. She added that state officials with the Executive Office of Aging & Independence have reached out to express support for the center and interest in watching its progress.

Dan Pallotta, a project manager with P3 who was hired as a consultant to help navigate the process of becoming a district, added that communities across the state are looking at the West County Senior Services District to serve as a model for what can be done and how senior services can be regionalized.

“Every town can’t afford a senior center, but they can collectively if they work together,” Pallotta said.

The board of managers does not yet have a meeting schedule, but plans to set one at its next meeting on July 31 at 3 p.m. at the Senior Center, 7 Main St. in Shelburne Falls.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.