Funds for senior center before committee

Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Arizona Range News
By Carol Broeder

An application by the City of Willcox for $200,000 for a senior citizens center is now before the House Appropriations Committee in Washington, DC.

The city has requested funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for construction of a 6,000-square-foot senior citizens center at a cost of $140,000 as well as $10,000 for kitchen appliances; $10,000 for gaming tables; and $40,000 in furnishings.

The Willcox City Council unanimously approved the application at its March 3 meeting.

“This is an action to apply for a direct, federal grant from Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ Office for $160,000, to be matched by $20,000 in local funds to construct and equip a senior citizens center for the City of Willcox,” City Manager Mike Leighton told the council.

Giffords’ office provides a form for applicants to make appropriations requests through her office for direct federal funding.

“This has been an issue for several years now,” Leighton told the council. “The city has not been able to garner the funds to construct and equip a senior center because, basically, other infrastructure issues have superseded it.”

“Giffords’ office has asked me to apply. I have done so and now request that a resolution be adopted supporting the application,” he added. “Please understand that these are highly competitive and that grants are now required to introduce a ‘national benefit’ into the language.”

In the city’s application, Leighton said, “The City of Willcox lies on the front line of this nation’s illegal immigration and potential terrorist crossing area from Mexico. It has a new border patrol facility being developed to provide facilities for a larger number of border patrol agents.”

“The city has taken advantage of all the training and grants in aid to help assist the federal government with its mission to quell the tide of illegal aliens and keep our borders secure from terrorists and terrorism,” said Leighton, adding that the city has also had “to put its limited matching dollars into infrastructure in support of future growth, mostly, more border patrol agents.”

“This hasn’t allowed the city to address another segment of our community in a fair or reasonable way,” he said. “We are proud to help them in any way we can and we maintain an excellent relationship with them.”

Leighton said that more than 35 percent of the Willcox population is 55 or older.

“They have paid their taxes, supported schools, and helped build this country into something very special,” he said. “They live on fixed incomes and they are faced with the uncertainties that the immigration and post 9/11 world has created for us all, except they often have to do it alone and without support from others.”

“Many seniors view the condition of the United States with trepidation and yes, fear,” Leighton said. “Many live alone and are not able to socialize and be with folks of their own age and beliefs. This applies to all of our diverse community. It is about half Anglo and half Hispanic. Both these communities oftentimes feel overwhelmed.”

“Let us not forget what they have done for us. It is time for us to do something for them,” he said. “They can still be vital to the community if they have something they can have ownership in and maintain with pride.”

Leighton said that Willcox is seeing more and more desire by baby boomers to retire here and in the surrounding area.

“This increase in retirees will only increase the need for a facility that brings an uncertain community together,” he said.

“Franklin Roosevelt said that, ‘We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.’ That adage came out of World War II when there was lot to fear,” Leighton said. “I would suggest we are in the midst of much the same in 2008. We are faced with significant change and the seeming inability to protect our borders from illegal immigrants and terrorists.”

“The security benefits created by a senior center lie with the fact that the whole community, including seniors, will have a place to come for solace, camaraderie, edification, and peace,” he said.

Giffords has also submitted a federal funding request for another Willcox project, as well as a request for a project that would impact the city, said her Communications Director C.J. Karamargin.

“The total request for Willcox projects is $810,000,” he said.

One is a request for $500,000 to remodel and expand the emergency department at Northern Cochise Community Hospital (NCCH).

“The emergency room in this rural community provides service for 12,000 people, but has not been renovated in 20 years, while emergency room visits have increased 10 fold during that time. Willcox is over an hour from the next town and over an hour and a half from the next full-service hospital.”

The other is a request for $150,000 for Cochise County Entrepreneurial Education and Development for Cochise Community College.

“This funding will be used to create comprehensive education programs that provide small business owners and entrepreneurs with skills to create and strengthen businesses particularly in rural areas of Cochise County and among underserved populations. Cochise Community College services the entire 6,200 square miles of Cochise County with campuses in Sierra Vista and Douglas, and education centers in Benson, Willcox, Fort Huachuca and Nogales.”

“These wide-spread campuses provide important services for hard-to-reach areas of Arizona. Cochise College will use this funding to expand existing resources in its Small Business Development Center. The funding will provide small business assistance through trainings and workshops held throughout the county that utilize certified dedicated professionals with access to high-quality global resources for the local business community in Cochise County.”

About her federal funding requests, Giffords said, “As a fiscally-conservative member of the Blue Dog coalition and a former business owner, I believe Congress must spend with the utmost care. In selecting funding projects for our region I was extremely selective, submitting fewer than half of the requests that were sent to my office.”

“I believe it is part of my job to bring the hard-earned tax dollars of Southern Arizonans home to our communities in meaningful ways,” she said.

The requests from the Willcox area constitute three out of 48 Southern Arizona projects submitted by Giffords, for a total of $119.5 million, said Karamargin, adding that includes $16.5 million for military construction; $15 million for defense; and $1.38 million for solar energy.

Karamargin told the Range News that the bidding process is a rigorous one.

“I can tell you there are many organizations seeking federal funding,” he said. “The Congresswoman screens the requests looking for projects with a worthwhile community, regional, or national benefit. The Willcox projects passed muster.”

The requests from Southern Arizona will now have to compete with those from members of Congress from all over the country.

“The applicants have to make the case to the Congresswoman, because she then has to make the case to the Appropriations Committee,” Karamargin said.

Congress has cut the overall funding level for FY 2009 projects in half, as it did last year for FY 2008 projects, Giffords said.

“A majority of my requests will not be approved due to this drastic reduction, but I believe they deserve strong consideration by my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee,” she said.

For those wishing to write the House Appropriations Committee in support of these local projects, the address is Room H-218, The Capitol, Washington, DC, 20515. The chairman is Democratic Congressman Dave Obey of Wisconsin.

Click here to read the article on the Arizona Range News website