GOUVERNEUR -- The Gouverneur Community Center parking lot has been paved with a $50,000 grant from the state.

The Community Center building, which received an earlier $100,000 state grant, opened in September 2016. It has since become a gathering place for community events, senior citizen activities and can be rented out for private events.

“It was back in September of last year when Senator Ritchie learned the parking lot would be gravel, with no true markings for handicapped spots. Not only did that hamper handicapped parking, but the bigger rocks in the gravel were a safety issue for people walking in the lot,” according to a news release from Ritchie’s office announcing the funding.

The funding to pave the lot has led to defined spaces for everyone and made their trip inside the Community Center building “much safer,” Ritchie’s office said.

The paving of the parking lot also allowed Gouverneur the opportunity to move the Meals on Wheels program into the center. The program, which requires paved parking lots at all of its locations, can now host meals right at the Community Center and deliver meals to area homes.

Since moving to the Center, the Gouverneur Meals on Wheels program has seen the number of people it has been able to provide meals to “grow exponentially,” Ritchie’s office said.

“This Community Center—a joint effort between the village of Gouverneur and the Town of Gouverneur—has been everything we dreamed it would be and more. It’s hosted community events and has even been rented out for private functions, but most importantly it has afforded us the opportunity to bring in the much-needed 'Meals on Wheels' program,” Gouverneur Mayor Ron McDougall said in a statement from Ritchie’s office. “The new parking lot just adds to the user experience, the safety and overall beauty of this amazing facility. I and the entire Gouverneur community cannot thank Senator Ritchie enough for her continued support of this project.”

“This building is absolutely gorgeous and has truly lived up to its name. However, the gravel parking lot left it unsafe and incomplete. I am honored to be able to help the Gouverneur Community Center once again and make sure it’s as safe as it is fun for everyone who uses it,” Ritchie said in a prepared statement.