County seeks funds for new Senior, EMS centers

San Juan County is pursuing funding from the Utah Community Impact Fund that would result in two new buildings in the county.
The county will seek $1,759,000 to assist in the construction of an Emergency Operations Center in Monticello and a Senior Citizen Center in Blanding.
The application seeks a $1 million grant and the remainder in a loan.
Officials state that the projects likely will not be able to move ahead without the help of the state funds, which are administered by the Community Impact Board (CIB).
A new Emergency Operations Center would be built on 100 South in Monticello, across the street from the county administrative building.
The county seeks a loan from the CIB for the estimated $559,000 project. Under the proposal, the loan would be paid by the county with Home Land Security funds received from the State of Utah.
Requested terms for the loan are five years at zero percent interest. The facility will be on land already owned by the county.
If approved, the proposed facility will be used exclusively by the San Juan County Office of Emergency Management. Officials state that the office generally operates from the old commission chambers in the county administrative building, which they characterize as inadequate.
The new facility would provide 2,400 square feet of office and meeting space, including a conference room, dispatch center, bathrooms and break room. In addition, there is space for two large parking bays for the mobile command unit and fire truck.
The new Senior Citizen Center in Blanding would be built on the site of the existing center on 200 North in Blanding.
The 5,900 square foot facility would include a multiuse room; handicap-accessible restrooms; a full-size kitchen, pantry, and servicing area; and six offices.
The current Blanding Senior Center is in a remodeled health care clinic that is more than 50 years old. Unlike the senior citizens it serves, this facility is aging and needs to be replaced.
The Senior Center currently provides meals to up to 60 senior citizens a week, in addition to Meals on Wheels that are prepared at the facility.
There are no handicap-accessible restrooms in the current facility.
Officials considered three options, including continued use, remodel or retrofit the building, and constructing a new facility. They say a new facility is the ideal alternative.
The county seeks a $1 million grant from the CIB, in addition to $200,000 in a loan that would be paid over time through the county general fund.
The CIB provides loans or grants to areas of the state that are socially or economically impacted by mineral resource development on federal lands.
In addition to the two San Juan County projects, other projects that may be funded in part by the CIB in 2018 include a new $380,000 shed for the Monticello Cemetery District, a $1.2 million project for secondary water infrastructure in Bluff, and a $250,000 project for sewer collection line upgrades in Blanding.