Plumbing fixes slated for Memorial Gym
May 22—Some original infrastructure at Memorial Gymnasium will get a much-needed improvement over the next year.
Kokomo School Corporation is planning to renovate the four main bathrooms at the historic gym.
The first two bathrooms will be renovated following the Indiana Junior-Senior All-Star game June 5. The game will feature Kokomo Wildkats players Flory Bidunga and Karson Rogers.
Those two bathrooms will be ready for basketball season, according to Superintendent Mike Sargent. The other two will be renovated following the basketball season and be ready for 2025 graduation.
The plumbing at Memorial Gym is original.
"The good news is they put cameras in the sewer lines, and the sewers are great, because they're in concrete, which means they don't move," Sargent said earlier this month.
Memorial Gym could also see upgrades to its concessions stands.
At Kokomo High School, there are plans to renovate the pool. The scope of work includes plumbing, filter system upgrades and reinforcing the pool shell.
"They're both very important needs that desperately need addressed," Sargent said.
It's unclear what the projects will cost. The Kokomo School Board could vote on bids next month.
It appears the projects will be financed through debt replacement, which is where new debt is taken on when old is paid off. The project is not expected to raise taxes.
The superintendent said some of the improvements to the pool system could be transferred over to the new swim facility, whenever it is built.
Kokomo schools bid out a new aquatics center twice, once in 2022 and again in 2023, but both times the project came in over budget. Last year, Sargent said the budget was no higher than $22 million. The project is shelved indefinitely.
The pool was built in 1967 and is past its lifespan, according to school officials.
Initial plans called for a standalone aquatics center at the high school, near the Haworth Gym entrance.
More swimming lanes, increased spectator seating and a zero-entryway pool were key features.
Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.
