MOSES LAKE - The parking lot at the Moses Lake Senior Center is showing its age.

A portion of the lot has been in place for nearly 60 years, with other sections added after the center was established in the early 1970s. The aged asphalt has since been sealed and patched to its capacity and is now covered in cracks and shallow craters - rough terrain that makes senior center officials nervous.

"Our primary concern is for the safety of our seniors, many of whom are disabled and using walkers or wheel chairs," Carry Liles, senior center general manager, stated in a letter to the Moses Lake City Council.

After soliciting project estimates from two companies, Liles and several board members recently visited the council to request $44,000 for completion of a full lot restoration.

Liles brought along pictures of large splits patched three times since last September, and a number of holes that have caved in and been refilled multiple times as the lot's subsurface deteriorates.

"One (hole) is close to a handicap parking space," she said. "We have a lot of people that use walkers and canes and this is very risky. In winter we have staff go out to help them to the door."

The senior center currently receives an annual $10,750 payment from Moses Lake under a contract to provide recreation services for the city's seniors, according to City Manager Joe Gavinski. He said city council has the authority at any time to increase the contract amount, which in this case the center could use toward lot resurfacing.

Liles proposed several funding options to the city, including an extra $22,000 payment this year and next, or an additional annual payment of $15,000 for the next five years. But citing their own mounting budget constraints, the city council ultimately chose only to increase this year's annual payment to $20,000, with the understanding the payment amount will be revisited next year.

"We know that we can come to you and ask for help but that we need to help ourselves too," Liles told council; adding center staff are researching grants and have already received nearly $700 in community contributions through a donation drive.

On Wednesday, senior center board secretary Mary Kile said a long-standing member of the center recently made a "substantial" loan to get things started.

Moses Lake-based Quality Paving will begin the project as soon as weather permits, Kile said, likely in April or early May.

But in order to guarantee its completion, Liles is asking for help from community members to reach a $5,000 goal. Center staff are planning several fund raising events over the next few months and Liles is promoting the building for party rentals, all to bring in money for what she said will be the most expensive undertaking in the center's history.  

"We're relying on the graces of our community members, who realize we're not just here to serve seniors but the entire community," she said. "This can't wait, the safety of our seniors is just too important."