The Dolores Community Center requested funding assistance from the Dolores Town Board last week to help cover needed repairs.
“We’ve taken a hit all at once on building repairs and maintenance. Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated, “ said Ed Merritt, treasurer for the community center.
A failed HVAC unit and compressors need to be replaced for $1,800, tables had to be replaced, and the floors had to be redone at a cost of $1,200. And roof repairs are needed before winter snows, and are expected to cost up to $1,000.
The Center’s Secretary, Marianne Mate, said the facility is an important meeting and event venue for the area.
“People love going there for meetings, weddings, private parties, and events,” she said. “It brings people into town and provides economic benefits for town.”
It is a common misconception that the community center is owned by the town. It is actually a nonprofit operated by an association and board of directors.
The center was built in 1976 after community fundraising. It was remodeled in 2009 and doubled in size. It operates on rental fees, donations, and volunteers.
The center has a commercial kitchen and provides regular meals for senior citizens in the area. Montezuma County contributes $3,000 per year for the senior meal program held at the center every Wednesday and Friday.
The commercial kitchen can be rented for $15 per hour.
“It has space for 400 and needs to be used more,” Merritt says.
The Dolores facility competes with the nearby Lewis-Arriola Community Center for business.
The Town of Dolores contributes to the senior meal program and plows the parking lot after winter snowstorms.
The community center revenues average $20,000 to $25,000 per year, with 35 percent derived from fundraisers. As the aging building’s maintenance needs increase, it is becoming tougher to make ends meet, managers said.
“We’re encouraging people to use it for town, state, or county meetings,” said Shawna Valdez, president of the center’s board of directors. “It gets people into Dolores who otherwise would not come.”
The town board discussed a one time donation of $1,000 to help cover repairs at the center.
For information on renting the facility go to www.dolorescommunitycenter.com
Mayor Santiago Lopez told about a plan to improve the Dolores Christmas celebration this year. A party is planned for Dec. 10 with a chili dinner and hot chocolate. A decorated tree will be erected in front of town hall. Other ideas are a toy and food drive, a live band, and setting up luminaries.Budget discussions have begun for the town. Town manager Lana Hancock reported major expenses for the coming year will be a $50,000 balloon payment for the town’s heavy equipment loader, $35,000 in maintenance repairs on the Fourth Street Bridge, and upgrading a sewer line that crosses the Dolores River.
