MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake Senior Center has replaced their aged parking lot, but now they need community assistance to pay for the project.

Part of the old lot had been in place for nearly 60 years, while other sections were added after the center was established in the early 1970s, according to Carry Liles, senior center general manager. The ancient asphalt was sealed and patched to its capacity, and lately became covered in a spiderweb of cracks and shallow craters.

Last month, a longtime member of the senior center loaned the organization about $35,000 to get a new lot put in, but Liles said so far only about half that amount has been raised to pay back the anonymous donor.

In March, Liles joined several senior center board members to ask the Moses Lake City Council to fund the full lot restoration, citing safety concerns for the seniors and disabled individuals who use the parking area.

"We have a lot of people that use walkers and canes and this is very risky," she said.

After much discussion centering on the city's current budget constraints, the council ultimately chose to increase their regular annual payment to the center by about $9,250 for this year only.

Including the city's bump in funding, a $5,000 donation and other community giving, Liles said this week that the center has raised about $15,000 toward paying off the project.

"We've gotten some money but now it's just coming in really slow," she said. "We do want to pay this off as quickly as possible."

To help speed up the process, Liles said the center is planning several fund raisers this summer, including a June 16 barbecue and country concert. Tickets go on sale in late May with all proceeds going toward the parking lot loan.

The lot was finished and striped early this week, which Liles said will make a big difference to the safety of the senior center's guests. She thanked Mike Eslick with the Moses Lake Golf Club, who loaned the center two golf carts used for transporting people to and from street parking during the lot's restoration.

"We have a lot of people in walkers who can't walk the distance, and those golf carts came in really, really handy," she said.

For more information on the barbecue, or to donate to the project, call 509-765-7809.