Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Del Rio Senior Center closed due to water damage

Julia M. Dendinger News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jdendinger@news-bulletin.com

Rio Communities Bingo players at the Del Rio Senior Center will have to make other arrangements for the next two months, thanks to Sunday's storm.

According to Jack Smith, the county's loss prevention specialist, due to water damage from flooding this weekend, the center could possibly be closed for two months for repairs.

"We are hoping it will be less. I visited the site Monday with the insurance adjuster, and that was his estimate," Smith said. Water depths ranged from a couple of inches to seven or eight inches, Smith said, damaging floor tiles and carpet. Water seeped up the walls, damaging Sheetrock 12 to 24 inches up from the floor.

"Until we open up the walls, we don't know what we'll find," he said. "When I was there, I could see some of the tiles coming up. They had gotten as much water out of the carpets as they could, but things were still squishy and you could already smell mold."

Another challenge in the cleanup will come from the tile flooring. Smith said that most of the tiling in the facility is asbestos, which adds another complication to the job.

"We are working with our insurance to get this done as quick as we can," he said. "There is a lot of work to do." The county is insured through the New Mexico Association of Counties.

Also damaged during Sunday's storm were transport vehicles at the Belen Senior Center. Smith said the vehicles had cracked windshields and mirrors.

"Because we have to have those vehicles to transport seniors, they told us to get an estimate on the (body) damage but to go ahead and fix the windows," he said. "So we're trying to get a foot in the door with the damage to the center and get someone in there before they're too busy."

In the meantime, the seniors who used the Del Rio center will be welcomed west of the river at the Belen Senior Center. "We are working on transportation to bring people to the Belen site," said Jose Campos, the county's Older Americans Program director.

"We have enough room to bring them here," he said. Since the Rio Communities center was a meal site, Campos said lunches will be served at the Belen center and anyone needing a home delivered meal will receive one.

Campos received the call about the center flooding on Sunday. "It was just a river of mud and water coming down the sidewalk and heading straight for it," he said. "We will do everything we can; seniors will be taken care of."

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