Leaking roof sends hundreds of gym users to Rancho Bernardo center

By Elizabeth Marie Himchak

A leaky roof that contributed to floor damage means an estimated 600 users of the Carmel Mountain Ranch/Sabre Springs Recreation Center gymnasium must go elsewhere.

A few hundred of them are being accommodated by the Rancho Bernardo-Glassman Recreation Center for the next few months — if not longer.

Signs on the CMR/SS Recreation Center’s gymnasium doors notify users the gym is closed due to “unsafe conditions” and directs them to the Rancho Bernardo and Scripps Ranch recreation centers for open gym.  Photo by Beverley Brooks

CMR/SS recreation staff closed the center’s gymnasium on Jan. 23 when trash cans, buckets and even a kiddie pool had to be placed throughout the gym to catch that weekend’s rainwater coming through the roof that was being replaced.

In the course of surveying the damage, it was revealed that damage to the gym’s wood floor — showing signs of prior water damage, such as warping boards — was much more serious. When a section was removed, it was discovered that water was collecting in the space under the floor and mold had developed, according to Clay Bingham, a deputy director in the city’s Park & Recreation Department.

“It was a growing problem that was not all obvious on the surface,” Bingham said. “It caught us by surprise as well.”

Bingham said on Friday that an assessment will be done to determine the extent of the damage and repair cost. Once repair estimates are obtained, the department will have to identify a funding source. Therefore, he can not estimate how long the gymnasium will be closed.

Bingham said it took more than a year to get $460,000 in city funds allocated to replace the center’s roof and install a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The lower section of the roof has been replaced and the upper section will likely be completed within two weeks.

Though he would not attribute all the floor damage to the leaky roof, or comment on the roof’s repair history, Bingham said a new roof was last installed in 1999 or 2000.

“The roof has been leaking since the building was built,” said Laurie Marcus, CMR/SS Recreation Council chairwoman. The center opened in 1997.

She said in the early years, the community’s developer — which also built the recreation center along with other public facilities — repaired the roof because it was under warranty. But when that expired, the city has been responsible for subsequent repairs. While finally getting a new roof, years of water leaking in has “wreaked havoc in the gym.”

Marcus said the council asked for a new roof long ago, but it took time for the city to come up with funding.

“It’s our fervent hope that we get a brand new floor instead of patch work,” Marcus said of the new problem.

While the gym has sustained the most damage — as far as Marcus can tell — she said there has been many times center staff dealt with water coming down walls throughout the building and they had to move the office computer to keep water off it.

Meanwhile, Marcus estimates up to 600 gymnasium users have been displaced. These include about 250 in the youth basketball program, approximately 40 men who play basketball during open play from noon to 2 p.m. three days a week, many children who play basketball during afternoon open play, a men’s basketball league with about 120 members who play four games a night twice a week, some Master Your Sports classes and the city’s dance classes.

Andrea Feier, San Diego Civic Dance Arts dance specialist, said the five Monday dance classes with about 50 students combined have relocated to the Rancho Bernardo-Glassman Recreation Center. They will remain there until the semester ends in May and start 10 minutes later to accommodate travel time.

Feier said she is thankful the RB center immediately accommodated the displaced CMR/SS dance classes, adding RB is returning the favor Hilltop Recreation Center in Rancho Penasquitos did for it when RB dance classes were displaced following the 2007 wildfires.

Gwen Leslie, a CMR/SS Recreation Council member with two sons in youth basketball, said at least three divisions have been accommodated by the RB center.

Though scheduled to close at 2:45 p.m. on Saturdays, she said it is remaining open so CMR/SS teams can hold their basketball games that now start at 2:30 p.m. They used to be held in the morning. The season goes through late February, longer if teams make it to playoffs. As for practices, she said some teams are using the CMR/SS center’s outside courts, with practices moved up an hour due to lighting.

Leslie also said Cub Scout Pack 624, whose 90 members planned to hold next month’s pine wood derby in the gym are looking for a new venue. Meetings can likely move to the multipurpose room, she added.

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Posted by Elizabeth Marie Himchak on Feb 1 2012. Filed under Featured Story, Local News, PQ, CMR, Sabre Springs, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Bernardo/4S Ranch (Click here for more stories). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry