When it comes to “The Bridge” in Bridgeport, there are a handful of key questions about the soon-to-open indoor sports and recreation facility.

 

The most prevalent in recent months has been what will it cost to utilize the facility. A look at what it may very well be for those utilizing it could get initial approval Monday at the Bridgeport City Council meeting.

 

The ordinance on "membership rates" is part of the agenda for Council’s 7 p.m. meeting. The meeting will be held at the Bridgeport Municipal Complex.

 

While it will be reviewed and perhaps given a green light by Council, City Manager Randy Wetmore said the ordinance is a first reading. He said that the matter has to go through all of the proper steps before final approval is given. He anticipates that to take place during the second meeting in February.

 

“We’ll have it available for review Monday,” said Wetmore.

 

The membership rates, which he said should be easy to determine, will be revealed at Monday’s Council meeting. Connect-Bridgeport will provide those Monday night or Tuesday morning.

 

Two other items of business on the agenda focus on the indoor sports and recreation complex. The first is a relatively standard item of business as a December 2020 payment of $2,136,233.70 will need to be authorized by Council to pay the general contractor A.M. Higley Company of Cleveland.

 

The other item on the facility, which Wetmore said more than 80 percent complete, involves a change order of $36,000 for the H2I Group of West Columbia, South Carolina. The money is for customization and standing of the gym floor at The Bridge.

 

Money for staining the floor and customizing it was included, but there have been changes. Wetmore said adding a log, multiple lines for additional games such as pickle ball, have resulted in the change order. However, he said the money to do this will come from another line item that is already in place and will not impact the budget of the project that will be in the $50 million range.

 

“This the result of adding things we did not know about at the time everything we put together,” said Wetmore.

 

The only non-business item on the agenda that is not standard is an annual department report. Bridgeport Police Chief John Walker will address the city’s governing body on the department’s work from 2020, what they are currently doing, and what he hopes the department will accomplish in the year ahead.

 

In other business, Council will consider a trio of re-appointments to the Bridgeport Zoning Appeals Board. They include Meredith McCarthy, Sam Spatafore, and Richard Forren. The terms for all of those individuals, if approved, will be for three years.

 

There will be a public forum at the meeting for anyone wishing to address the city’s governing body. Mayor Andy Lang and Wetmore will also have reports.

 

There is no work session scheduled for the meeting.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows work being done on the area where basketball and multi-use courts will be located inside The Bridge. Bottom photo shows City Manager Randy Wetmore, left, speaking during the Jan. 11 virtual meeting as Mayor Andy Lang looks on. Bottom photo by Ben Queen of Ben Queen Photography.