A new senior center has been on the Gallup City Council’s priority list for a while now, but things are finally moving in the right direction.

At the Jan. 16 and 30 city council meetings, the council accepted large amounts of funding from the State of New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department.

Both amounts came from a Capital Appropriation Project Grant, with the first amount coming out to just over $4.5 million. The council approved that on Jan. 16, and another grant that totaled almost $7.5 million on Jan. 30.

During the meetings the city’s Planning and Development Manager C.B. Strain said that the money is meant to help plan, design, construct, equip, and furnish the senior center.

Per the agreement, the city has to use the $4.5 million by June 30, 2026. The $7.5 million has to be spent by June 30, 2027.

In total, Strain estimated that the senior center would end up with a price tag of $20 million when the project is completely finished. He said that once Phase 1, which is just the design phase of the project, is done, the city will go to the state legislation and ask for more money.

“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. “With this [funding] we’ll be well on our way to getting that accomplished.”

Now that the council approved the funding, a bid for the design can go out. Once an interested designer makes a bid, Strain will come back to the council so they can approve the designer’s contract.

By Molly Ann Howell

Managing Editor