Editorial: Fixing what’s broken

We’ve known for a couple of years that the FIT Center does not comply with state school safety codes. And it should come as no surprise to Town of Shelter Island officials that the aging American Legion Hall they bought for $1 in 2008 would need work.

But we didn’t expect problems with the two facilities to make headlines in two consecutive weeks.

The State Education Department will not let the school put the FIT Center problem on the back burner; it’s linked any other improvements at the school to compliance. That’s a good thing. While the town has no overseer to keep it focused on bolstering a bulging Legion Hall foundation, we hope Ed Brown and other board members will continue to keep an eye on this town asset.

Fixes for these buildings may be costly and will be inconvenient, particularly for recreation programs. How do we get the most out of any improvement projects that follow? The school needs to get a handle on how the FIT Center was constructed and then opened without a certificate of occupancy. And the town needs to get going on monitoring the Legion wall and re-convene the community center committee to explore options. If the east wall must be rebuilt, it might make sense to revive plans to expand the building.