The Betty Ehart Senior Center is scheduled to undergo renovations, including installing a new HVAC system, making the building ADA compliant and improving the parking lot. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
The Betty Ehart Senior Center (BESC) is in the process of getting a few upgrades.
Los Alamos Retired and Senior Organization (LARSO) Executive Director Ramon Garcia touched on what those upgrades are: installing a new HVAC system, complying with the American Disabilities Act (ADA) and bringing some of the building’s amenities up to code. Re-surfacing the parking lot also is being planned.
Los Alamos County Project Manager Sobia Sayeda explained why these renovations are necessary.
“The current HVAC system at the Betty Ehart Senior Center was identified for replacement in the County’s 2022 Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) Report,” she said. “The FCA noted that the system is outdated and has reached the end of its useful service life, making replacement necessary to ensure reliability, energy efficiency, and occupant comfort.”
Sayeda added that various other building envelope items including doors and windows were identified as outdated and in need of replacement.
“Additionally, an (ADA) assessment completed in June 2022 outlined several items required to improve ADA compliance throughout the facility,” Sayeda said. “These improvements are essential to ensure equitable access and to bring the building up to current safety and accessibility standards.”
Furthermore, she said the FCA identified needed repairs to the asphalt parking lot, including patching and general maintenance to address deterioration and safety concerns.
The work is expected to start in June and last about eight months. Before any power tools begin whirling or workers in hard hats are spotted, Garcia said the contractor hired to do the work needs to submit construction documents to the County for approval and signature. This hasn’t happened yet.
Sayeda broke down the timeline for the documents. She said in 2025, the County acquired architectural and engineering services for design documents for this project through an on-call agreement. The design development documents were completed late last year and the contractor has been working on construction documents since January. She said construction documents are anticipated to be completed in mid-April. The project is being partially funded through a grant the Los Alamos County applied for through the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Care Services Department. Garcia said the grant totals about $1 million.
Sayeda explained that the grant was awarded in November 2025 to Los Alamos County. The current budget for the HVAC replacement project is $3.5 million and a subsequent project including general renovations is budgeted for $4 million in Fiscal Year 2026.
With the senior center undergoing renovations, how to continue its operations is still being discussed, Garcia said.
However, he emphasized that “services are not going to stop. Services will continue.”
Options such as transporting LARSO members to the White Rock Senior Center are being considered as well as possibly taking the County’s offer to utilize space in some of its facilities.
“We are just trying to be diligent in our work and make sure we are not just rushing,” Garcia said, adding that once the details are finalized, a town hall will be held to share information to the public.
“We will keep everyone informed of the facts,” he said. “We just need everyone to bear with us as we pursue those facts.”
As with any construction project, there are inconveniences, but Garcia said the finished product will make the Betty Ehart Senior Center feel like new.
“We are confident once the project is over, we feel like this will be a brand-new facility, essentially … I feel like it’s going to be really good for us,” he said. “It’s a pain to go through it but we are a resilient community, and we have ways of getting over things like this.”