Plan to move Chimayó post office to senior center has seniors worried

Jul. 11—CHIMAYÓ — Aiming to replace the post office that burned down last year, Santa Fe County officials are considering leasing a county-owned senior center in Chimayó to the U.S Postal Service.

But seniors who congregate at the Bennie J. Chavez Senior Center for meals and group activities such as painting and weaving are concerned about losing what they view as a hub of their rural community.

"We've always been here. This is our get-together place. This is where we come to cool off in the summer," said Aida Luz Gonzalez, 88, who plans to circulate a petition that will urge county officials and the postal service to weigh another location to replace Chimayó's post office.

The Santa Fe County Commission unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday aimed at exploring an agreement with the postal service to turn the senior center into a post office. Any such lease, county documents note, "would be contingent upon additional public outreach as well as the County successfully negotiating a partnership with Rio Arriba County to potentially serve the seniors who currently utilize the Bennie J. Chavez Senior Center."

The draft of a potential lease agreement included in the commission's packet on Tuesday's shows a proposed annual rent of $3,100 for the first five years, plus an operating cost of $500. For the next five years, the annual rent would increase to $3,565, with the operating cost remaining at $500.

Chimayó has been without a dedicated post office since the former one burned down in February 2023. Since the blaze, residents of Chimayó have for the most part been forced to drive to Santa Cruz to get their mail.

"This is a complex problem and a great opportunity for us to step in and provide a resource that we have within our portfolio ... the Bennie J. Chavez Senior Center that is needed to save the post office in Chimayó," District 1 Commissioner Justin Greene said at Tuesday's meeting.

Santa Fe County is early in discussions with Rio Arriba County on possibly shifting services offered at the Bennie J. Chavez Center to Rio Arriba County's La Arboleda Senior Center, roughly 1.5 miles from the Chavez center.

However, the seniors who use the Chavez center now don't view this as much of a solution.

Rose Ann Valdez and Maryann Trejo, painting as a part of a group at the center on Wednesday, both said it would not be the same at the Rio Arriba County center, citing the close-knit community here. They were complimentary of the senior services provided by the county at Bennie J. Chavez and would prefer to stay there.

"Here in Chimayó, this is like the hub of the city in this little town. It just seems like they are not asking the right people," said Valdez.

"This [the center] is like our second home," Trejo said.

In a February news release, the postal service said it wanted to find "a suitable substitute location, as close as reasonably possible to the existing location" of the burned-down post office on N.M. 76 and would continue to serve area residents from Santa Cruz "until all necessary preparations are completed at the new location."

In an effort to introduce potential options for the postal service to utilize existing Santa Fe County-owned buildings, the county floated two locations — the Chavez center and the former Head Start Building in Chimayó.

Having visited the two locations, the postal service in late May requested more information on the Chavez center and asked that the parties start negotiations for a potential lease so the center could be turned into a post office, according to information in a county memorandum accompanying the resolution.

"To me, it feels like elder abuse," Gonzalez said, adding that "our voices are not being heard."

However, Santa Fe County officials say the current arrangement, with three senior centers in El Rancho, Santa Cruz and Chimayó, doesn't make sense.

"The service array and staffing pattern in northern Santa Fe County exceeds demand for congregate meal service," states a presentation provided to the commissioners at their June 11 meeting on the subject.

County spokeswoman Olivia Romo said the county needs to balance the needs of seniors with the need for postal service.

"The need is definitely there [for a post office in Chimayó], and we just want to be good partners," she said in an interview.

The New Mexico State Fire Marshal's Office investigated the fire but was not able to determine its source or ignition material, according to a report issued by the agency. The situation has drawn the attention of members of New Mexico's congressional delegation, who have pushed the postal service for a firm commitment on restoring postal service in Chimayó.

In June, Greene and county staff met with community residents at the Bennie J. Chavez Senior Center. Most of the senior users of the center did not want to see it closed, states information in a county memorandum about Tuesday's resolution.

"This audience does not necessarily represent the sentiments of the wider community, however," the memo says. "On that score, as we understand it, USPS engages in its own public outreach before selecting a new post office, which should allow the wider community to voice their view. In addition, we believe that some of the most significant concerns voiced by seniors on June 17 could potentially be addressed in the potential partnership with Rio Arriba County."

Speaking at Tuesday's meeting, Greene alluded to some of these concerns.

"We went up and spoke to the seniors a couple of weeks ago, and I presented this to them in a way, 'We're very sorry we want to put this to you, but you guys are the heroes in this conversation, and we are not going to leave you high and dry,' " Greene said. "What we want to do is combine the best of Santa Fe County, which happens to be our staff and services, and combine with the best that Rio Arriba County has to offer."