New Mexico State Lawmakers to Vote on Senior Center Facility Projects

A project that could see the construction of a new senior citizen center in the northwestern New Mexico town of Prewitt may soon secure crucial state funding.

The state’s Aging and Long-Term Services Department has submitted a request to the New Mexico State Legislature asking for up to $2 million in capital outlay funding to build the facility.

As proposed, funding for the Casamero Lake Chapter Senior Center, which would be a part of the Casamero Lake chapter of the Navajo Nation, will pay for the planning, design, and building of the new structure.

The Casamero Lake project is one of just over a dozen items presented by the Aging and Long-Term Services Department to lawmakers asking for around $3 million in capital outlay support.

Other requests include $195,000 for the design and building of an addition to the Ojo Encino Chapter senior center, also a part of the Navajo Nation; and $100,000 for the planning and building of improvements to the Hidalgo County Ena Mitchell Senior Center in the southwestern town of Lordsburg.

An additional request is asking for $125,000 for the planning, designing, and upgrading of kitchen space at the Beatrice Martinez Senior Center in Espanola in northern New Mexico.

Tasked with providing long-term care options, transportation, and prescription drug assistance, the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department late last year submitted a $52.5 million budget for fiscal year 2022 to the state.
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That figure, $4,000 more than the department’s 2021 budget, partly reflects increased services the agency has been providing during the pandemic.

​By Garry Boulard

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