PLAISTOW — The town is looking into the possibility of taking over the lease of the local senior recreation center in order to ensure that its programs are maintained and possibly expanded.

Plaistow Town Manager John Scruton said the town is investigating the possibility of taking over the lease of the Vic Geary Center located on Greenough Road. He added that a lease transfer is in its infancy and that such a transfer would require the approval from several local organizations involved with the center.

One of the groups involved in the decision is the American Legion, the current owner of the Vic Geary property. Scruton said members of the American Legion donated a great deal of time and material for the center before its opening.

The legion leases the property to the Vic Geary Center board of directors, which oversees the senior center, for $1 per year on a 100-year lease. Scruton said he is hopeful that the dollar amount on the lease would remain the same, although he expects changes in the wording of the lease to ensure operations on the property continue as they have throughout the life of the lease.

Advisory comments are also required from the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission before the town’s lease acquisition can take place.

According to Scruton, selectmen, who will make the final decision on acquiring the lease, have shown interest in proceeding with its acquisition. Scruton said he would be meeting with members of the American Legion and the Vic Geary board as early as next week and that the Planning Board and Conservation Commission are expected to discuss the matter in their respective upcoming meetings.

If selectmen wish to proceed following the meetings, a minimum of two public hearings will need to be held regarding acquisition of the lease. Scruton said taking control of the lease would ensure programming for the center continues and the town would be able to oversee expansion of the programming as well.

“We know that society is aging,” he said. “There is a much larger market that we could reach through expansion of the programs.”

According to Scruton, the Vic Geary board, which consists of six volunteer citizens, is not as active as they once were in overseeing activities at the center, and some of its members seem anxious to pass on the torch to someone else.

“This is no knock on the (Vic Geary) board,” said Scruton. “They have done a lot of good things for a lot of years, but at this point they are unable to do it with as much vigor as they once had.”