Since the town approved community center funding in the spring, the next step in its construction is to take the recommendations from the past Community Center Commission and move toward design and programming. The commission had recommended, after months of planning, a center with common, multipurpose rooms intended for all ages, and a 50-meter pool and zero-entry pool to sit on town-owned land at Fairfield Hills, adjacent to NYA Sports & Fitness Center.

Since then, the town has established members of an Ad Hoc Community Center Advisory Committee including former Community Center Commission members, Parks and Recreation Department members, and others. The town has also contracted with Florida-based Sports Facility Advisory (SFA) group to help determine the facility's future use.

In an e-mail this week, First Selectman Pat Llodra wrote, "We are working with SFA to do more business modeling and cost estimating before we turn to actual design.

"We have had one conference with SFA representatives to detail the scope of work and a follow-up conference call with some data relative to projected build-out costs for a 50-meter aquatics center. More data is yet to come, with more evaluation of how best to proceed with the aquatics center."

Town staff are also working to "get a handle on project costs," Mrs Llodra wrote. "We will proceed with design as soon as we feel confident about the scope of the project.

"We are seeking good data to help guide decision making before we get into the design phase," the first selectman added.

During a Parks and Recreation Commission meeting Tuesday, July 12, Director Amy Mangold - a member of the advisory committee along with recreation commissioner Maureen Crick - said they have had recent conversations with SFA, which is still "in the draft report process," and looking at options.

It is a "step by step" process now to design the facility and determine its programming. SFA is "considering special needs" for recreation, and will then compile a draft report. At the moment, they are still looking at "the big picture and will then talk about programming.

Many groups, including Parks and Recreation, seniors, and the Cultural Arts Commission, are interested in using the new center for programming space and a general place for residents to gather, to run classes, host exhibits, and more.

As of Tuesday, April 26, the Community Center Commission's work was done. Mrs Llodra asked several commission members to stay involved with planning.

A GE Foundation gift of $10 million to build, plus $5 million in town Capital Improvement Plan funds to build, the center is available for the project, in addition to $5 million from GE for the facility's operation after it is built. This money comes at $1 million a year for five years, but would not be lost if it is not all used.

For more than ten years the town has hoped to build a community center to expand and increase programming space for a number of groups, including the recreation department, seniors, students, the arts, and to meet the community's needs.