Town to phase in locker room upgrade at municipal center
BETHEL — With two other major projects in varying stages of development, the town now plans to break up in phases the renovation of the locker rooms at the municipal center.
The project would be too “ambitious” to complete at once, with the $14.4 million police station project nearing completion and the $65.8 million renovations to Rockwell and Johnson elementary schools gearing up, First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker said.
When the old middle school was converted to a municipal center about two decades ago, the town ran out of money to redo the locker rooms near the gym.
But recently the selectmen asked the Public Site and Building Committee to plan how the project, which at one point was estimated to cost between $1 million and $1.4 million, could be completed in phases.
“We’re going to try to break it into components and do it over a period (of time),” Knickerbocker said.
The project would include upgrades to the locker room and its showers and bathrooms — used by participants in the Parks and Recreation Department’s programs — as well as the bathrooms in the lobby near the multi-purpose room.
About 50 participants use the gym daily, with higher numbers on Saturdays or for large events, Eileen Earle, director of Parks and Recreation, estimated.
The showers are in the worst condition, officials said. “They are really, really older and decrepit,” Knickerbocker said. “The showers are barely usable.”
But the facilities are also critical during emergencies and power outages. They were open during this May’s massive storm, as well as Superstorm Sandy several years ago, for example.
“The showers don’t really meet the needs for that at the present time,” Earle said.
She said the locker room is just plain outdated, too. “The flooring is old,” Earle said. “The ceiling is old, everything like that.”
The front bathrooms in the lobby near the multi-purpose room also need upgrades. As part of the bathroom improvements, the lobby would need to be reworked, Earle said. These bathrooms are near the municipal center lawn and are perfect for attendees of the town’s outdoor events to use, she said.
The town has previously worked with Hawley Construction and Architects Guild to plan the project. About two years ago, the town conducted environmental testing of the area for asbestos, lead and mold. Lead and mold were not found, but asbestos found in the floor was abated.
Nancy Ryan, a building committee member who is on a subcommittee dealing with the project, said the group has not met yet to figure out the latest plans.
But since the building committee is busy with the police and school projects, Knickerbocker said the members likely won’t have a plan until the end of September at the earliest.