The city of Las Cruces cut back hours at the Munson Center and the Eastside Center after reports of low attendance rates and high utility costs.

The Munson Center is now closed weekends. The changes began Nov. 1.

The Eastside Center now closes at 2 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.

Senior Programs Administrator Sally Schutte said she estimates the cuts to both centers will save around $40,000 a year in utility costs.

"We can take that savings and apply it to the cost of raw food for our programs that we offer," Schutte said.

But some seniors told KFOX14 they feel the cuts are unfair as seniors are left with no other options on weekends.

"It kind of hurts seniors," Robert Trevino said.

Robert said he usually goes to the Munson Center on Mesquite Street five days a week and he used to go on weekends until the city cut those days.

"Seniors don't have much to do on the weekends so then sometimes they have a place to go and right now they don't have a place to go at all."

The Munson Center sees up to 400 seniors a day on weekdays but Schutte said the weekends had a drastically lower attendance rate, with some days seeing fewer than 10 people.

Some seniors are worried about a beloved Saturday night activity -- dancing.

The nonprofit group Las Cruces Senior Citizens Corp. sponsored dances but the city says the low attendance rate couldn't justify the cost.

"They socialize and dance," senior Sherrill Mason said. "This is what being a senior citizen is about."

Schutte said a group can still rent space from the Munson Center on weekends.