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Catalytic converters were stolen this week from Cromwell Senior Center buses.

An image is shown from security footage, which captured a group of people stealing catalytic converters from Cromwell Senior Center buses Wednesday night. Police said the car with its headlights shining was used by the suspects.

CROMWELL — The senior center was dealt another blow to its transportation quandary this week when three of its buses had their catalytic converters stolen overnight.

Police Capt. Fred Sifodaskalakis said the converters were stolen from the Town Hall parking lot by a group of about three people sometime after midnight Wednesday. A security camera captured the incident, Sifodaskalakis said, but the suspects’ identities were obscured by darkness and poor video quality.

“We’re still looking into it, unfortunately,” he said.

Reported catalytic converter thefts have skyrocketed statewide as thieves steal the parts because they contain valuable metals that can be sold for large profits.

The thefts constituted another brief setback for the 41 West St. facility, which already had an “unsustainable situation” because of a shortage of working vehicles, officials said in a recent letter.

Wednesday’s heist targeted the center’s only remaining operable buses, temporarily leaving it without any to transport members, Senior Services and Human Resources Director Amy Saada said Friday morning.

But, Saada added, one bus has already been repaired, and another one is expected back soon.

“Yesterday morning, when we got here, all the buses had been hit, and we had doctor’s appointments that people had to be at by 9 o’clock,” she said. “We just found cars, and got people where they had to be.”

Town officials discussed the senior center’s dire need for additional transportation during Wednesday night’s town council meeting, just a few hours before the robbery occurred.

In a letter to councilors, read during the meeting, Senior Services Commission members described its “unsustainable situation with our fleet of vehicles.” The center previously had five operating vehicles — four buses and a minivan — used to take older residents to and from

A 2005 minivan and 2012 bus were both removed from service as recommended by the town mechanic due to rusted undercarriages, the commission wrote in the letter. A 2011 bus with 97,000 miles on it was also removed from service due to an inoperable engine, and there has been a delay in getting a replacement engine, it added.

However, when the bus with the blown engine was removed, senior center staff were told the rusted 2012 bus could still be driven locally but not on the highway, according to the letter.

“This is not helpful to those seniors who have appointments in Middletown or Hartford medical facilities,” the commission said.

A shared bus with Portland is available on a part-time basis, but this service is funded through a grant that ends in November, the letter states.

The town’s senior services department had procured a grant to replace the bus with the busted engine, and expected to receive the vehicle in August, Saada said. But a global shortage of car and bus parts has delayed the delivery by a year, she added.

“We are doing everything we can to get our seniors to where they need to be on time,” Saada said.

To assist with the vehicle shortage, the assessor’s office provided the senior center with a car that is being used to run errands and fulfill outreach calls for older residents, according to the letter.

“Instead of five town vehicles allotted for the senior center, we are down to the assessor’s office vehicle, two full-time buses, and the shared Portland bus that is only available for a few more months,” the letter stated. “We strongly encourage that the funds be released from the (COVID-19) rescue dollars to resolve this problem.”

Town Manager Anthony Salvatore said during Wednesday’s discussion that part of the center’s transportation issues can be traced back to the former Department of Public Works director, who “sat on the bus (with the blown engine) for about two months and did not tell the mechanic to fix it.”

It wasn’t until Lou Spina, the new head of Public Works, recently took over that Salvatore said he found out replacement parts for the broken-down bus were never ordered.

The issue became further complicated with the recent resignation of a town mechanic who had been working to fix the bus with the blown engine. Spina said that the mechanic, who left the department Thursday, wasn’t optimistic he would finish the repairs before his departure.

The vehicle shortage has afflicted many town departments, Salvatore said, adding that the dearth of transportation has led the town to consider buying vehicles in state auctions.

When asked about the possibility of lending a vehicle to the senior center from Cromwell’s motor pool, Salvatore said there weren’t any available.

“Money is not the issue, the issue is availability” of vehicles on the market, Councilman Jack Henehan said.

Speaking on behalf of Cromwell’s older residents, Councilman Al Waters urged town officials to act swiftly to find a solution to the problem. The senior center needs transportation “soon if not sooner — pronto,” he said.

“If these people don’t get adequate attention, [such as] being brought to the doctor’s, we know what the results could be,” Waters said. “Can somebody turn around, please light a fire, and get this taken care of ASAP for the seniors because they need it.”

There have been 66 reported catalytic converter thefts in town since January, Sifodaskalakis said. “We’re as much of a victim as any other town in the state,” he said.

In January in neighboring Middletown, two high school students’ vehicles had their catalytic converters stolen during school hours.