$12 million in grants will cover two phases of the project
By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
A new senior center has been on the Gallup City Council’s priority list for a while now, and now the project can finally get started thanks to some recent funding.
During the Nov. 26 city council meeting, the city’s Planning and Development Manager C.B. Strain said that the city now has almost $13 million to help fund the project. In January, the council accepted two large amounts of funding from the State of New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department for a total of over $12.7 million.
Strain explained that the project would be completed in three phases. The first phase includes building the center’s dining area, offices, lobby, kitchens, storage areas, and restrooms. What Strain calls “Phase 2A” will see the completion of a group exercise area, a fitness room, more storage space, an arts and crafts room, a library, and a billiards room. A gymnasium with a basketball court will complete the project in Phase 3.
REVISING COSTS
In January, Strain estimated that the total cost of the project would be $20 million.
When city staff put out a request for bids in July, Murphy Builders, Inc. put in the lowest amount for their request proposal. According to the proposal, Phase 1 of the project is going to cost $8.83 million. Strain said Phase 2A is going to cost over $212,000.
With these price tags in mind, Strain said city staff realized they had enough money to have the council approve both phases now.
“We were originally approaching council with just Phase 1 in mind, but when we got our grant money and the proposals came in, we were quite pleased with the prices that we got,” Strain said. “It’s going to be real tight, but we do have enough to get it done.”
Councilor Michael Schaaf, Dist. 2, noted that waiting to do Phase 2A would actually cost the city more money.
“Now if they waited on 2A, they’d have to tear down the stucco and then it would cost us more in the long run,” he said.
Strain agreed that waiting would add to the construction costs.
Huitt-Zollars, Inc. will provide support for the project through administrative services. They will also serve as the architects for the project.
Strain said the city hopes to begin construction in the spring, with the project lasting a total of about a year and a half.
“Our seniors desperately need and deserve a new senior center, and we owe it to them to do the best we can to make sure that happens,” Strain said during a January meeting.
The standing senior center is in Councilor Linda Garcia’s District 1. During the Nov. 26 meeting, she mentioned how she visited the center during a Thanksgiving meal and they had to put the overflow crowd in the center’s gym where the HVAC system wasn’t working properly, leaving the room cold.
“The building’s so old, things are going out,” she said. “They’ll fix them, but when events are going on there isn’t enough time.”
Garcia said she and the community are very excited to celebrate the new center.
“It’s a longtime coming,” she said. “Our seniors are anxious and excited about it, and I’m ecstatic about it.”
LOOKING FORWARD TO PHASE 3
City staff didn’t ask for approval to award a contract for Phase 3 of the project yet.
Strain said the city is planning to have a separate building for the gym, with a hallway connecting it to the rest of the senior center.
The new senior center will be located on the east side of the Larry Brian Mitchell Recreation Center. Strain said some of the picnic tables and handball courts in the area will have to be removed to make way for the new building. But only the picnic tables west of the emergency command center will be affected.
The council unanimously approved both contracts so that Murphy Builders, Inc. can begin construction on the new senior center as soon as possible.
