Contact: Arnold Vigil
(505) 986-4263
Arnold.Vigil@nmlegis.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2015
Attorney General Asked to Investigate Gallup Senior Center
Senator George K. Munoz (D-4-Cibola, McKinley, & San Juan) has requested that the State Attorney General’s Office begin an official investigation of the City of Gallup regarding the operation of the Gallup Senior Center, which has been cited for many safety and operational violations in the past few years and is in critical danger of being taken over by the state.
“We believe that city personnel are trying to cover up an investigation that occurred last month in February,” Sen. Munoz wrote to Attorney General Hector Balderas. “The seniors are in danger of losing out on many benefits at the center if the state takes it over. Some programs will have to be cut, while others will see interruptions. A new director will have to be put in place.”
The city operates the Gallup Senior Center, which is funded through both the federal government and the state. Its operating funds and grants are distributed through and overseen by the New Mexico Non-Metro Area Agency on Aging (NM AAA), a quasi-federal/state arm of the state’s Aging & Long-Term Services Department.
The City of Gallup turned down a request to hold a public hearing regarding the senior center in February when NM AAA conducted a site visit and full review of the senior program. The hearing would have allowed citizens and seniors who use the center to voice their concerns about the facility.
“There are many seniors in Gallup who rely on the senior center for much of their daily activities. It concerns me that the city might be continually neglecting the facility,” Sen. Munoz said. “By looking over the variety of NM AAA citations that have been issued against the center, it appears that there are many unsafe irregularities regarding its operation.”
Prior assessments by NM AAA have called out a variety of violations at the center, ranging from improper food storage and inventory to faulty record-keeping and poor employee supervision to unsafe and poorly maintained kitchen equipment. The center was also faulted for inconsistent home deliveries of meals to seniors and not preparing freshly made meals.
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