At a Special Town Meeting on Oct. 6, Old Lyme residents approved by a scant 27 votes the expenditure of an additional $405,000 from the town’s surplus account to be used to supplement the $478,000 Small Town’s Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant awarded in 2013 to fund the construction of a new boathouse and other improvements at Hains Park. The current cost estimate of the project for the park, which abuts Rogers Lake, stands at $883,000.
There are already strong indications, even before the project has gone out to bid, that changes to the design may be necessary to meet prevailing building and fires safety codes, which could lead to an increase in the construction costs.
Draft construction drawings submitted to Old Lyme Fire Marshal, David Roberge, earlier in October have raised a number of questions about compliance with fire safety codes, as well as possible building code deficiencies and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) non-compliance.
Roberge told LymeLine he has concerns regarding the adequacy of the emergency exits from the second floor, which, it was stated at the recent town meeting, would be an area available at times for the general public to use. Roberge also noted that the plans he has received do not show adequate fire separation between the first and second floor.
The Fire Marshal has not yet been provided with the mechanical or electrical drawings for the proposed building, so has been unable to comment on the adequacy of emergency lighting or exit signage.
Based on his preliminary review of the draft plans, the Town Building Official, John Flower, has also expressed concern about some aspects of the building design and is planning to submit the final construction drawings, once received, to a third party for independent review. Flower states that he has specific concerns about, “Possible under-sizing of support columns for the second floor,” and adequacy of the construction design for the front of the building.
As currently planned, the second floor will also have no handicap access and would require an elevator or wheelchair lift or other similar device to become ADA compliant, none of which are currently in the budget. Addition of an elevator or wheelchair lift would also have fire safety and building code implications and would require review and sign-off before a building permit could be issued.
Although final construction drawings have not yet been submitted to the Fire Marshal or Town Building Department for review, the Town of Old Lyme published a Public Notice in ‘The Day’ Wednesday, Oct. 22, requesting bids on the project by Nov. 17 and announcing a mandatory pre-bid site walk, Oct. 25, at 10 a.m.
“If changes are required to meet fire safety codes after the bid has been awarded, it will require a change order,” noted Roberge, “and that usually means an increase in the construction cost.”
I still don’t understand how this passed so quickly. Doesn’t seem right that so many people in town are opposed to this and it still passed. If a person could not attend the meeting they could not vote. Hmm.
This project was rushed through the financial approval process in days, ostensibly to allow construction work to begin in the fall. However in reality, I would submit, it was given an expedited passage to avoid full transparency and debate and to ensure it gained approval. While the process may have been legal, it was, in my opinion, wholly against the spirit of how we should be operating in the Town of Old Lyme.
As far as fire codes go, isn’t it a little strange to worry about handicap accessibility in a building that is used for the rowing program? Is that really apart of fire code for a building with a very specific purpose? The new building will be a monumental improvement to what is currently the boat house with bathroom facilities, running water, storage space for all the equipment, and actual changing room space. Cramming 15 people into the approximately 8×9′ changing rooms that are currently available is a more worrying breach of fire code then whether an second floor exercise room filled with rowing machines has wheel chair access or not.
Old Lyme has groomed an exceptional rowing program since it was originally started by Fred Emerson. This year the Old Lyme rowing team’s first boat did more then hold it’s own in the Head of the Charles Regatta in October, but Old Lyme’s “David” took silver in a race attended by the “Goliaths” of the rowing world.
In a time where college costs force parents to take second mortgages on their homes and to put of retirement indefinitely, the rowing program has provided many students from Old Lyme and elsewhere with a leg up on college costs and the privilege of attending the best colleges in the country.
The construction of a better facility and home for Old Lyme s rowing team is great way for the community to help interest future rowers, to give students the edge they need in this competitive world we live in, and/ or, at the very least, to learn the value of team work and exercise.