How was FIT Center built without a permit?

The FIT Center — the town-run exercise facility attached to the Shelter Island School — is in line for significant upgrades in order to bring it into compliance with New York State Education building standards.

The facility has been open to residents for over 10 years without a certificate of occupancy and without meeting state education fire safety codes. A review of the project’s history and current paperwork problems indicates that it was constructed without a building permit and apparently without on-site state inspections.

The New York State Education Department has barred any other improvements to the school facility until the FIT Center problems are straightened out. Unlike a private building, construction on school property is subject to New York State Education Department (SED) codes, not local rules enforced by the town Building Department.

So how did this happen?

Exactly what attempts were made to obtain permits during the volunteer-driven construction project is unclear. No documentation has been found, and one of the key players, a pro bono architect, died shortly after compliance problems came to light.

CONSTRUCTION HISTORY

The FIT Center was the result of a community-wide grassroots effort launched in 1997 (See story, page 10, on FIT Center origins.) Many members of the community came together to construct the workout center as well as the tennis courts and baseball fields that were part of the project.

“A lot of the labor was done by donated service, the parents, local community members who came in,” said Cliff Clark, one of the organizers and a current member of the town’s Project FIT Committee. “Some got paid for certain things because it was necessary to have professionals, but a lot of people got up there with shovels helping out and Little League dads out helping with the fields.”

The FIT Center’s architect and engineer was Michael Tortorice of Southampton. “I told him about the project and he agreed to do the architectural engineering work pro bono,” Mr. Clark explained. The cement footings for the fitness center were poured over Christmas break in 1998.

A January 15, 1998 Reporter article listed Shelter Island contractor James Eklund of Reich/Eklund, Mark Labrozzi of Shelter Island Concrete, Peder Larsen of Shelter Island Sand and Gravel and Cliff Clark of South Ferry as among the many who donated their services to the project.

Advanced Building Associates of Stony Brook put up the prefabricated 75- by 25-foot structure, which included the steel frame, steel walls, insulation, windows and doors. The installation of the interior of the building, including sheet rock, window trimmings, wooden studs and everything else inside was completed by volunteers.

The building also includes a rest room, office and physical therapy room. The final project, including tennis courts and ball fields, cost a little over $250,000 at no cost to taxpayers, Mr. Clark said, though there was still some money left over for a capital fund. Mr. Clark posits it would have cost two to three times what it did without the help of so many volunteers.

A ribbon cutting ceremony for the completed FIT Center was held on August 16, 1999.

The center was given to the school and the town, and the school signed a contract to run the center jointly. The town runs the day-to-day operations, which include hiring a FIT Center director and collecting membership fees. Some money from those fees pay for the director and FIT aides and some goes toward capital repair projects.

PROBLEMS DISCOVERED IN 2008

The problems with the FIT Center’s paperwork were first publicly aired at a December 2008 School Board meeting. “There have been issues with the proper paperwork on the FIT Center being filed with the state education department (SED),” School Board President Rebecca Mundy told the Reporter back then. “Whatever paperwork should have been filed when the FIT Center was constructed 10 years ago never was,” and so now the FIT Center doesn’t have a certificate of occupancy.

When asked whether the architect had been consulting with the SED,  town Recreation Director Garth Griffin said, “We assumed that that was going on, maybe that was a bad assumption. Everything was done in good faith, this was all done with volunteer labor, under the eyes of contractors who to my knowledge had gotten the okay from the SED.”

About the permit process, Mr. Eklund told the Reporter, “I wasn’t involved in that aspect of it. Maybe it was a case of one person assuming another person was doing it, I don’t know. I know the initial plans were approved and we were given the go-ahead to do it. We assumed that the people at the time who were involved in managing the school were following up on the things that needed to be done.” He said that, to his knowledge, there were no representatives from the SED who inspected the site while construction was going on.

When the problems with the paperwork came to light, Mr. Clark explained that the architect, Mr. Tortorice, assured him that the building was done completely up to code at the time. “He had documentation to that effect, and it was in his archives, and he was going to get it for us and a week later he died of a brain hemorrhage at 42. That took away the contact we had to demonstrate that what was done was done according to state code.”

Mr. Clark, Mr. Eklund and Mr. Griffin all say they understood that the project received a preliminary approval from the SED.

NO RECORDS AT THE SCHOOL

According to current interim Superintendent Robert Parry, “No one in the school, no one in the architect firm and no one in the SED finds any documentation for permits that would have needed to be issued or for a certificate of occupancy upon completion of the project.” That includes a building permit for the initial construction, said Business Leader Sam Schneider.

The FIT Center cannot get a certificate of occupancy because its construction does not meet certain SED requirements. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the center does not meet SED fire alarm requirements and certain ventilation system requirements, and needs to have different windows and doors installed that meet SED safety standards as well as replacing the wooden studs with metal studs. “It’s a gut job,” as Mr. Parry described it.

The renovations to bring the building up to code will cost between $120,000 and $140,000 according to Mr. Schneider. This money will come from the approximately $206,000 that the FIT Center has saved for capital improvements.

Though this grassroots community project has had its setbacks, members of the School Board have stated that they are committed to preserving the FIT Center for years to come.