July 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 gather at the Bennie J. Chavez Senior Center for meals and group activities such as painting and weaving are worried about losing what they see as a center of their rural community.
“We’ve always been here. This is our meeting 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 post office to weighing in another location to replace the Chimayó post office.
The Santa Fe County Commission unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday that seeks to explore a deal with the post office 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’s successful negotiation of a partnership with Rio Arriba County to potentially serve seniors currently utilizing the Bennie Senior Center J. Chavez.”
A draft of a potential lease included in the commission’s package Tuesday shows a proposed annual rent of $3,100 for the first five years, plus an operating cost of $500. Over the next five years, the annual rent would increase to $3,565, with the operating cost remaining at $500.
Chimayó has not had a dedicated post office since the old one caught fire in February 2023. Since the fire, Chimayó residents have mostly been forced to drive to Santa Cruz to pick up their mail.
“This is a complex problem and a great opportunity for us to step in and provide a resource we have in our portfolio…the Bennie J. Chavez Senior Center which is needed to save the post office in Chimayó,” said District 1 Commissioner Justin Greene said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Santa Fe County is in early discussions with Rio Arriba County about possibly moving services offered at the Bennie J. Chavez Center to Rio Arriba County’s La Arboleda Senior Center, about 1.5 miles from downtown Chavez.
However, seniors using the Chávez center now do not see this as a solution.
Rose Ann Valdez and Maryann Trejo, painting as part of a group downtown Wednesday, said it wouldn’t be the same in downtown Rio Arriba County, citing the close-knit community here. They praised the services provided by the county at Bennie J. Chavez and chose to stay there.
“Here in Chimayó, this is like the city center in this small town. It seems like they’re not inviting the right people,” Valdez said.
“That [the center] It’s like our second home,” Trejo said.
In a February news release, the Postal Service said it wanted to find “a suitable replacement location as close as possible to the existing location” of the burned post office on NM 76 and that it would continue to serve Santa Cruz-area residents. “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 launched two locations – the Chávez center and the former Head Start building in Chimayó.
After visiting both locations, the post office in late May requested more information about the Chavez center and requested that the parties begin negotiations for a potential lease so the center could be turned into a post office, according to information contained in a memo of the county accompanying the resolution.
“To me, it looks 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 suite of services and staffing patterns in northern Santa Fe County exceed the demand for congregate dining service,” states a presentation made to commissioners at the June 11 meeting on the issue.
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 unable to determine its origin or ignition material, according to a report released by the agency. The situation caught the attention of members of the New Mexico Congressional delegation, who pressed the postal service for a firm commitment to restoring postal service in Chimayó.
In June, Greene and county officials met with community residents at the Bennie J. Chavez Senior Center. The majority of the center’s senior users did not want to see it closed, states information in a county memo about Tuesday’s resolution.
“However, this audience does not necessarily represent the sentiments of the broader community,” the memo says. “Accordingly, as we understand it, the USPS engages in its own public outreach before selecting a new post office, which should allow the broader community to express its opinion. Additionally, we believe that some of the most pressing concerns significant differences expressed by the elderly on June 17th could potentially be addressed in the potential partnership with the municipality of Rio Arriba.”
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, Greene alluded to some of these concerns.
“We went to talk to the seniors a few weeks ago, and I presented it to them in a way that, ‘We’re really sorry for wanting to tell you this, but you’re the heroes in this conversation, and we’re not going to leave you alone,’” he said. Greene. “What we want to do is combine the best of Santa Fe County, which is our team and services, and combine it with the best that Rio Arriba County has to offer.”
