New floor in at community center’s gym
FARMINGTON – There’s a shiny, new hardwood floor at the Community Center just waiting for people to play on it. Opening day is Monday, Dec. 1.
Expenses have topped $120,000 to repair damages to the center after a roof drain failed in September, flooding the building, Farmington Recreation Director Steve Shible said.
One of the most costly items to replace was the gym floor. It was damaged beyond repair, he said. The new floor cost $47,380.
Workers were resetting basketball rims on the backboards Tuesday.
The new floor is about a half-inch higher than the old one because additional sheets of wood were put down to stabilize the floor before the hardwood was installed.
While the gym has been unavailable for use since the flood, the downstairs reopened for recreation Nov. 5.
Downstairs has a new dance floor, new ceilings and new computers. It also has a used projection screen television donated by Tom Marcellino, an owner of The Granary.
Kids were gathered in a game chamber downstairs either playing a new Xbox or watching opponents play with sound affects surrounding them. There was standing room only.
The game system and three games were bought with money raised by selling pieces of the old hardwood flooring with engraved plaques as memories.
Building construction students from Foster Regional Applied Technology Center in Farmington removed pieces of the flooring for the project.
Students saved the word “Farmington” that was at center court. Construction and metal trade students also made it so “Farmington” could hang on the wall like a picture in the gym.
From a different era, that old wood stands out in sharp contrasts to the new No. 1 grade maple wood.
Everything is pretty much done, Shible said, except for a couple ceilings in the men’s locker room and boiler room and a few other items.
“It’s been a long haul,” he said. “It hasn’t been without problems … We stayed our course and it came out great. I’m very pleased.”
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