Steve Martin is quick to praise the staffers at the Powell Senior Center, but the building they work in is a different story.

“They [the staff] do a lot of amazing things in there for what they have to work with,” Martin said.

The Powell area’s senior population has outgrown the current center on North Gilbert Street, and Martin and other center leaders have been saying for years that they need a bigger and better facility.

“Right now there’s a lot of things they’re maxed out [on],” said Martin. “They’re double- and triple-using space in there.”

This fall, he’s hoping that Park County voters will approve funding for a new, $7.9 million senior center. The project is a part of a proposed $19.28 million sales tax measure that would also pay for a renovation of the Cody Auditorium and multiple projects in Meeteetse.

Martin, who chairs the nonprofit that oversees and operates the Powell center, says the planned facility in Powell would bring a host of improvements.

At 9,500 square feet, the new building on South Fair Street would be nearly double the current site — especially when considering that much of the existing 5,618-square-foot building includes upper levels that some seniors can’t reach.

Additionally, with only 27 parking spots for the dozens of seniors who arrive for weekday meals, “you can’t find parking over there,” Martin said. In contrast, the new facility will offer over 50 parking spaces. It will also have space to store loaner medical devices, so they no longer have to be stowed in an outdoor garage.

And that’s not to mention the expanded kitchen (which would be more suitable for prepping meals), a garage for the center’s van, a more private space for seniors to be counseled on VA, Medicare or Social Security benefits, a designated exercise room and a one-level, handicap-accessible design.

“This is going to be so nice,” Martin said, describing it as a simple, efficient layout.

Senior center leaders turned to a specific purpose sales tax after years of pursuing other sources of funding — including from the state government — failed to pan out. If a majority of voters reject the proposed tax hike on Nov. 3, “we don’t have anything else,” Martin said.

If voters do OK the measure, Park County’s sales tax rate would temporarily rise from 4% to 5%. Once the $19.28 million is collected — a process that government officials expect to take about two years — the tax rate will return to 4%. Martin said one local resident told him that, “I don’t believe in putting other taxes on, but I will vote for this one, because I know it will go away.”

The building itself would be owned by the City of Powell and then leased to Powell Senior Citizens A Go-Go, the nonprofit that runs the center.

Anyone wanting to learn more about the project — and the proposed sales tax hike that would fund it — is invited to attend a Thursday meeting at city hall (270 N. Clark St.).

City and senior center leaders will be on hand to share information and answer questions from 6-8 p.m. Those with questions can also call the senior center at 307-754-4223 or visit powellseniorcenter.com/coming-soon.