Selectmen Approve $46k to Replace Community Center Floor

Eight years after it was originally installed, the floor in Waterford Community Center's dining room is set to be replaced.

In their budget proposal for the 2013-14 fiscal year, the Board of Selectmen allotted $46,250 to replace the floor. That total still needs to be approved by the Board of Finance and the Representative Town Meeting, but Waterford Senior Services Director Sally Ritchie said it is needed.

Ritchie said the floor, which is a lament flooring on top of a cement base, is bumping up in some places because there is so much moisture in the room. The town tried to get money back from the insurance company for the project, but was denied, as the insurance company cited shoddy workmanship as the reason for the problems, Ritchie said.

Next, the town went after the contractor who installed the floor as part of the overall construction of the community center, but that contractor is now out of business, she said. That leaves the town to pay for it itself, before a senior trips and falls on one of the many bumps in the floor, she said.

The floor was finished in May of 2005, when the community center opened. The floor in the dining room is now popping up in places, to the point that senior services covers the bumps with carpets to avoid people from tripping over them, Ritchie said.

Ritchie said there is a lot of moisture in that room and the adhesive that holds the floor down is failing. She said she would like to put a tile floor in there, perhaps a tile floor that looks like a wood floor, but the specifics of the replacement still needs to be approved.

Ritchie said the floor got the worst this past summer, and will probably continue to get worse and worse every year.