Photo courtesy of the village of Los Lunas
The expansion of the Daniel Fernandez Memorial Park Recreation Center will include a second gym, three program rooms, an additional restroom, a new entry and office space for staff.
The residents of the village of Los Lunas will soon have more recreation space at the Daniel Fernandez Memorial Park Recreation Center.
The village council unanimously approved the award of a bid to T.A. Cole and Sons for the nearly $6.3 million, 19,000 square-foot expansion of the recreation center at its April 7 meeting. T.A. Cole submitted the lowest of five bids for the project.
Los Lunas Parks and Recreation director Jason Duran said the expansion to the center will include a second gymnasium, three program rooms, an additional restroom, a new entry, and office space for staff.
Looking to the future, Duran said the expansion would include infrastructure for a future aquatic center.
The increased footprint of the center will require the removal of the tennis courts to the north of the existing center, but the baseball fields will be kept. The expansion will take the building to the southern edge of the splash pad.
The project will be funded with a combination of state and local money — $300,000 comes from capital outlay awarded by the state Legislature and the remainder from the village’s general fund.
The council unanimously approved a budget adjustment for $4.5 million for the project at the same meeting, which will be added to the $2.3 million transferred for the project last fiscal year.
Councilor Chris Ortiz asked if the larger building would cause any drainage issues at the park. Duran said all existing and new drainage would be directed to the outer perimeter of the park, so the new building wouldn’t have a negative effect.
“The building will be elevated by 18 inches as well,” Duran said.
The addition to the center is expected to take right at 365 days, the director said.
“They have 60 days from time of award of the contract before that time line starts, and they can start early,” Duran said.
The expansion to the recreation center was announced last May. Duran said the prospect of more space for programs had staff “bouncing off the walls. Right now, we’re only allowing teams an hour to practice. That’s all the time we have,” Duran said.
Currently, there are about 40 volleyball teams that use the center for practices and games, he said, and the additional gym will allow for more teams and more practice time.
“Kids and adults will have more time,” he said. “This will improve the programs we have and let us bring in new programs.”
With more people using the center after the expansion, Councilor Cruz Munoz asked if there would be enough parking and whether there would be safety concerns surrounding entering and leaving the property.
Los Lunas Fire Chief John Gabaldon said there was plenty of parking as well as egress from the site, something he was asked about.
“They made sure it will hold what they need for the future,” Gabaldon said. “I support this, as a community member.”
Duran said there is enough parking for the expanded building, but additional space will be needed for a future aquatic center.
Julia M. Dendinger began working at the VCNB in 2006. She covers Valencia County government, Belen Consolidated Schools and the village of Bosque Farms. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists Rio Grande chapter’s board of directors.
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April 18, 2024
