Summer rental with water view for Project FIT
The long awaited FIT Center construction project is underway at the Shelter Island School.
The fitness center, weight room and physical therapy facility, which is open to residents who purchase a membership, has been moved to the Coecles Harbor waterfront at the St. Gabriel’s Retreat Center at the end of Burns Road and will remain there until reconstruction is complete at the school later this summer. Work began Friday both at the temporary location and the school site.
An overhaul is needed at the FIT Center because it was found to have been built without adherence to state Education Department requirements.
The FIT Center was established over 10 years ago by community volunteers working with the town and school district. It never received a certificate of occupancy. The renovation will replace wooden support beams with steel.
It is expected that work will be completed by the beginning of August, with the facility reopening just before Labor Day.
The center was closed beginning on Monday, and the setup at St. Gabriel’s was expected to be completed by today, Thursday, according to Garth Griffin, the town’s recreation program director.
The Passionist order that owns St. Gabriel’s, which has not been used as a retreat since 2009 and is for sale, has signed a contract with the town to allow the FIT Center to operate there. The town is required to pay any utility bills and do minor renovations.
The contract for the use of St. Gabriel’s great room, as well as two other buildings for school and recreation programs, is between the Town of Shelter Island and St. Paul’s Benevolent, Educational & Missionary Institute, Inc. of Union City, New Jersey for the period ending September 5, 2011. It was negotiated by Mr. Griffin along with Greg Hampson and Town Supervisor James Dougherty.
Plywood and rubber mats have been placed over the flooring in the great room of the retreat house in order to protect the floors. On Tuesday, all of the FIT Center equipment and mirrors had been moved there by Jernick Moving and Storage.
Directions to the out-of-the-way retreat were included in the notes that were sent home with school children to notify families of the change.
The FIT Center’s Physical Therapy Department is also being relocated to St. Gabriel’s. This program, which is part of a yearly agreement with Eastern Long Island Hospital, will be available daily from 7:30 a.m. to noon and currently provides service to 12 to 15 patients three times a week, according to Mr. Griffin.
The exact total cost of the project is unknown, Mr. Griffin said, but he expects that the funds collected from the FIT Committee from FIT Club memberships, approximately $208,000, should cover the costs of the renovation. The center will be responsible for the payment of utilities, and the new location will be covered by town insurance.
Mr. Griffin said he was grateful to School Business Leader Sam Schneider, who he said had worked hard to support the renovation.
The completion of this project will be a welcome relief to the FIT Center Committee, which includes the School Board president and the town supervisor along with Cliff Clark, Jim Reed and Mr. Griffin.
Mr. Griffin, who has been in his present position since 1989 when the FIT Center opened, and with the Recreation Department of the town for 30 years, is keeping very busy with the renovation project while also working on summer recreation programs. Although he is eligible to retire, he said “I will get the CO for this building before I retire, I don’t want to leave this with anyone else.”