About a year ago, on the heels of a $15 million gift to Newtown from General Electric, the Board of Selectmen appointed an advisory committee to look into the scope, logistics, cost, and future usage potentials of a community center that would be developed and operated through that generous donation.

Committee leaders Robert Geckle and Andrew Clure recently reported their findings to the Boards of Selectmen and Finance. On February 5, during the presentation to selectmen, Mr Geckle said the committee set about determining to the best of their abilities without defined architectural plans, “what a community center looks like.”

The volunteers focused on what is described as the Phase One aspect of a plan that will utilize the GE grant to build and staff a standalone senior center, as well as an aquatic facility on a parcel adjacent to the NYA Sports & Fitness complex at Fairfield Hills. Among their duties was visiting other communities that had relatively new senior and/or aquatic centers.

Mr Geckle said the committee on average met twice monthly to review and crunch data from their field visits.

“We got a pretty good idea of programming, unit volume trends, and unit pricing,” Mr Geckle told selectmen. “We did a lot of benchmarking using the experiences of a lot of other communities.”

The grant is stipulated to provide $10 million for development and construction of a community center, with the balance devoted to a minimum of five years of operational programming at $1 million per year. But as previously reported in The Bee, one of the most favorable outcomes of the operational grant is the ability to extend the $5 million to cover not just the first five, but the first 15 years of operation, Mr Clure affirmed.

To date, all required town boards have approved the appropriation of $9.55 million for the construction of the center’s Phase One. The other $45,000 was previously appropriated for design and engineering, which First Selectman Pat Llodra said would yield preliminary floor plans and renderings ahead of a planned March 21 referendum to gain required taxpayer approval to spend the stipulated GE grant.

Local Parks & Recreation officials on February 12 announced a pair of dates for public information sessions to unveil those plans and to answer questions about the planned development. 

Phase I Info Sessions have been scheduled for Tuesday, March 3, at 7 pm, in the Lecture Hall at Newtown High School, 12 Berkshire Road; and Tuesday, March 10, at 6 pm, in the lower level of Town Hall South, 3 Main Street.

Two Pools Planned

In describing the aquatic component of the project to elected officials, Mr Clure said the development will likely incorporate two multipurpose pools. One would be a multilane configuration with a diving component, the other a zero entry “therapeutic pool.” He said an adjacent pool house would include a sauna; men’s, women’s, and a family locker area; a lobby café with seating and vending machines; some configuration of team, event, or party rooms; an administrative and support staff suite; and “lots of storage.”

Mr Clure said the committee envisions the aquatic complex providing seven-day-a-week programming with more than 100 hours a week of availability for residents. An example schedule he presented illustrates Monday to Friday access from 6 am to 9:30 pm, with slightly downscaled opening hours on weekends.

That document also illustrates a range of activities that could be offered, including open lap swimming, water polo, swimming lessons, water fitness, a diving program, aqua arthritis and Zumba therapy, scuba lessons, and exclusive access for seniors and local swim teams. As part of their research, committee members visited Ridgefield, Mansfield, and the Brookfield Greenknoll YMCA, each boasting at least two public swimming pools.

Turning to senior center details, Mr Geckle said the study committee was confident the ability for expanded, multisite programming in the new facility would quickly boost its membership to or over 1,000 participants. Among the planned features are a dedicated entrance; a large dividable multipurpose room; a separate, dividable dance/exercise room; a game room; arts and crafts studio; a lounge/library and computer room; a full commercial kitchen; a health services suite; storage; and administrative offices.

Besides more than two dozen programs already being offered to local seniors, Mr Clure predicted another two dozen could be accommodated including pottery and ceramics instruction, monthly socials, woodworking, photography, pickleball, low impact aerobics, jewelry making, and various health support programs and screening opportunities.

In examining several neighboring communities that invested in new and expanded senior centers, Mr Geckle noted that Bridgewater, which opened in 2014, has already seen a 50 percent increase in membership. The Brookfield center, which opened in 2010, has seen a 108 percent increase in membership, topping 1,400; while the Monroe center that opened in 2003 has increased its membership 200 percent.

Even Oxford, which opened its new center in 2006, increased its senior membership from 400 to more than 1,000 today, he said.