District Wants to Open New Gym to Public, But Can't

of Schools David Baugh expressed his frustration this week over the school district's inability to open its new gymnasium to the public, according to a release.

But he said the same contractor that caused months of delay in opening the facility at Bensalem High has failed to provide a necessary mechanism.

"A climate control piece is still missing," he said.

While district staff can manually control the indoor environment and could move students to the older gym if necessary during weekdays, there is no district or township staff to do that on weekends, Baugh added.

Plus, he said, the district's liability rises in the event that a member of the public encounters a problem while indoors due to faulty climate control.

The district has been advised by its attorney not to sign paperwork that would release the contractor from its responsibility of supplying the mechanism and finishing the installation.

"Unforeseen events occur with every construction project and we very much regret that the contractor will not fulfill its obligations," Baugh said. "Human error should not have been the unforeseen occurrence. We hope they will do the right thing because we certainly want to open it to the township as soon as we can."

The $15 million facility was formally dedicated in December. in the arrival of heating/ventilation/air conditioning equipment from the overseas firm. Water damage from the units occurred during storms last August also contributed to the delay.

"We're still wrangling with the firm," Baugh said this week.

With $2 million coming from township coffers and another $2 million obtained by the municipality from the state, the 45,000-square-foot facility has always been considered a community center as well as a gym, with public access during non-school hours part of an intergovernmental agreement.

Baugh said the district and municipality continue to communicate about the situation.

"We are truly pleased to have partnered with the township on this project and see it as a potential national model in this era of reduced budgets. Collaborating with the township is something we very much want to do moving forward. Our kids and the township benefit from our ability to leverage our resources."

"We have a long history of making our facilities available," former district business manager Jack Myers previously said. "We want to make the gym available to individuals to walk the track and shoot some hoops. We want to try to mirror the manner in which we make our pools available, with public swims and swims for seniors."

Information provided by the school district.