RUMFORD – An informational meeting on a proposal to build an addition to Mountain Valley High School for a pool and fitness center is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 26 in Room 302 of the high school.
Residents of SAD 43’s four member towns will have a chance to cast a nonbinding straw vote during the June 14 elections on whether an ad hoc committee should go ahead with plans for the proposed 56,000-square-foot addition.
Frank DiConzo, a school board member representing Rumford, heads up the 20-member committee.
Using federal cost estimates per square foot, he said the proposed building could cost from $2.3 million to $4.8 million.
If plans go ahead, he said construction of the fitness center and pool onto the current gymnasium would likely be a five- to 10-year project.
Because the addition would be on SAD 43 property, the SAD 43 board would have to approve the ad hoc committee’s plan. And although it would be on school property, DiConzo said construction costs and maintenance would not be the responsibility of the school district. Instead, he hopes to raise construction costs through grants, and acquire the estimated $230,000 annual maintenance fees through memberships in the fitness center.
As proposed, the addition would be built onto the back of the high school and attached to the gymnasium. It would house an Olympic-size pool for use by students and the general public, and weight and exercise equipment.
Much of the equipment, valued at nearly $200,000, came from a federal wellness grant. It is currently housed in a section of the gym at Mountain Valley Middle School and in sections of the locker rooms at the high school.
If residents don’t support the proposed addition, DiConzo said he would begin a push for building a 180,450-square-foot fitness center that would serve surrounding towns.
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