New NWC climbing wall delayed – Powell Tribune

Plans for a new climbing wall in the Northwest College Johnson Fitness Center are moving forward, but slowly. Other improvements to the fitness center are also in the works.

The $122,000 climbing wall was approved by the NWC Board of Trustees in April 2015, paid for with funding from the Wyoming Community College Commissions recapture and redistribution funding formula for that year.

However, the project has been on hold because of structural and other improvements needed to make the Trapper Gym in the Johnson Fitness Center ready for the climbing wall, and a delay in availability of the wall itself.

NWC Plant Manager Dave Plute said the needed preparatory work includes strengthening the wall of the gymnasium where the climbing wall will be installed, adding a heating and air conditioning system and refinishing the gym floor.

In addition, cellulose insulation will be removed from the gym ceiling. The insulation is nonflammable, but will ignite if touched by an open flame, Plute said. In addition, the insulation comes loose when hit with a ball, floating into the buildings ventilation system.

The cellulose insulation will be replaced with insulation that is nonflammable and noncombustible, and it will be covered by a suspended ceiling and new lighting installed, Plute said.

The Johnson Fitness Center projects have been approved for funding through major maintenance money from the state of Wyoming. The HVAC system, insulation, ceiling and structural work is estimated to cost $450,000, with another $100,000 for work on the gym floor.

Work on the heating and cooling system has already begun. It will be completed during the summer, Plute said.

Plute noted that the Trapper Gym and offices in the Johnson Fitness Center havent had air conditioning.

The only thing you could do was open the window and hope for a breeze, he said.

The new HVAC system will make the building more comfortable and usable during warm-weather months, well into the future, he said.

The new climbing wall wont be available for installation until next summer.

The company told NWC officials that they would not be able to provide the wall until November or December 2017.

So phase two of the work on the Trapper Gym/Johnson Fitness Center strengthening the wall, removing the old insulation and installing new insulation, adding a suspended ceiling and new lighting will be completed in spring and summer 2018 in conjunction with installing the climbing wall.

The project is complex and requires detailed sequencing, coordination and scheduling, Lisa Watson, NWC vice president for administration and finance, told the NWC Board of Trustees earlier this month.

The cost to install the climbing wall is estimated at $60,000.

Keith McCallister, an assistant professor of health, outdoor and physical education, said there is an increasing interest in climbing, both among NWC students and the general public. The old climbing wall in the Cabre Gym is outdated and difficult to manage, he said.

Plute added, It turns what is a great thing into an attractive nuisance sometimes.

He said a couple of 10-year-olds escaped their parents during the NWC graduation earlier this month and started free-climbing the wall without any safeguards.

I was able to intercept them and tell them to go back to their parents, Plute said.

Other projects

Additional major maintenance projects planned at Northwest College over the summer include:

Roof replacement for the DeWitt Student Center. Although plans to replace that building are beginning, that wont happen for at least another 10 years, and the roof must be replaced to prevent problems, NWC President Stefani Hicswa told the board at a previous meeting.

The roof replacement was bid out to McGs Roofing of Cody for $73,300, with an August completion. Another $22,500 was budgeted for the design.

Equine arena work, including painting, insulation, lighting, heating and ventilating and replacement of a fence in the riding area at a total estimated cost of $197,000.

Trapper Rodeo Arena improvements, at an estimated cost of $100,000.

Weve already finished the heater piece and made drainage improvements, and now were working on the electrical system, Plute said. Were taking it and making it as safe as we can make it.

Installation of Big Voice emergency notification system and strobes in the Fagerberg Building and the Fagerberg Annex (formerly the nursing building), at a cost of $169,000. Those are the only NWC classroom buildings currently without the Big Voice emergency system and strobes.

Exterior access and drainage improvements to Colter Hall.

Excerpt from:
New NWC climbing wall delayed - Powell Tribune