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RFP Approved for Westbrook Rec Center Study

At a meeting on March 12, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) unanimously voted to send out a request for proposal (RFP) for a firm to conduct a feasibility study on potential sites for a community center in Westbrook.

Community center ad hoc committee member Greg Carlo attended the March 12 meeting and asked the BOS to approve the study. Carlo said the RFP would review the potential sites in town and assist with citizen outreach.

First Selectman John Hall said the town attorney had approved the language of the RFP, and the BOS unanimously voted to approve the document.

Per the RFP, “The feasibility study would provide focus and definition for activities, size, scope, location, and cost for a community facility.” The RFP also asks the selected firm to conduct two community information sessions, one early in the process and one later.

The RFP responses are due at the end of April, and a firm will be chosen on May 21, according to the document.

In December 2022, the BOS appointed a new ad hoc committee tasked with considering possible locations around town for a community center and potential costs to build and operate the center.

At a BOS meeting on Jan. 30, Carlo said that the committee is looking at three potential sites for the center. One site is Wren Park, near Daisy Elementary School and the library. The second site is on undeveloped land behind middle and high schools. The third potential site is the National Guard Armory on Brookside Avenue.

Carlo said at that time that testing would likely be needed to determine whether building on those sites is even possible.

Interest in starting a community center in Westbrook has been a long time coming. In 2011, the consulting engineering firm Woodard & Curran recommended using basement space in the Westbrook Public Library as an interim center, but that never happened. Interest was reinvigorated a couple of years ago when some residents again began to clamor for more space for recreational activities like pickleball.

In 2021, an online survey for Westbrook residents designed to gauge interest in a town community center received more than 280 responses within 24 hours of being live. In total, 714 people filled out the survey, with a majority of people in favor of the town building one.

Efforts to continue the project continued in 2022 with the founding of the committee.