Senior center clears Congressional hurdle

A bill that would provide 4.5 acres of land to expand the Carson City Senior Center passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday.

House Resolution 271 was introduced by Congressman Jim Gibbons, R-Nev. on Jan. 30. The companion bill in the Senate, S.230, introduced by Sen. John Ensign, was last heard on June 10.

"Over the years, the senior citizen community of Carson City has grown tremendously, making the current Senior Citizens Center one of the most highly used public facilities in the region," according to Gibbons, a member of the House Resources Committee which unanimously reported the bill to the floor of the House last month.

"Since it was established in 1972, the Carson City Senior Citizens Center has expanded to the point they are at today ... overcrowded with simply no room left to grow," continued Gibbons. "My legislation will allow the center to acquire land for the construction of a new center, which in combination with existing facilities, would be able to serve a larger segment of the public."

Gibbons' bill directs the secretary of the Interior to convey a former Bureau of Land Management administrative site to Carson City for use as a senior citizens center.

Approximately 4.5 acres, the site is former BLM property that has been vacant since 1997, when the agency moved to a new office.

The proposed site and expansion would allow seniors with limited mobility to have access to a senior center, the Carson Tahoe Rehabilitation Center Hospital, an assisted living center, and adult day care center.