WETHERSFIELD - The Wethersfield High School renovation project reached a milestone last week with the opening of the site’s new gymnasium, media center and music wing.

       The Jan. 5 completion of the new spaces has been set since early December, and the Project Building Committee hit its target, although the areas were not immediately accessible to students and members of the public.

       Wethersfield Superintendent of Schools Michael Emmett opted to skip a ribbon cutting, mainly due to the fact that it has been what he described last month as a moving target--he had originally planned for a Dec. 1 opening, but that was pushed back to Dec. 15 and then the Jan. 5 date.

       Members of the Project Building Committee met at the Board of Education building at 127 Hartford Ave. last Monday night for a presentation from personnel from construction contractor O&G Industries and architect Rusty Malik. They viewed photos of the newly constructed spaces, pointing out areas that could use adjustments.

       Members of the Committee expressed concern regarding the lights in the gymnasium, which they say have been set up to deliver less than ideal illumination across the space.

       â€�"Something like this may have us have to purchase new lights,” said Committee Chair Christine Fortunato. â€�"We’ll have to cover the floor again--there are ramifications.”

       Another feature of the new gymnasium is a self-adjusting temperature system, which Emmett said needed a quick fix as of that day.

       â€�"I was in there yesterday and it was like a sauna,” he told members of the Committee.

       With temperatures as low as 20 degrees that day, that might make sense, given that the system adjusts itself according to the incoming air from outside.

       The gymnasium has been among the top priorities for Emmett, who was looking to have it open in time for the high school’s basketball teams to use them. Both the boys and girls teams have been practicing and playing home games off site since last year.

       As of Jan. 5, the school had its new gym floor and lobby, which includes a ticket window that overlooks the new student entrance. The boys locker room was also ready, with the girls locker room expected to be ready â€�"within that week,” according to O&G.

       As the presentation moved onto the new band and choral rooms, the discussion turned again to lighting, only this time from outside the spaces--the room gets too bright toward the middle of the afternoon due to the sun, Emmett and Committee members said.

       â€�"We were in there at 2 [p.m.], and it was right in your eyes,” Fortunato said of the band room, which has high windows.

       Similar comments were made about the new media center, where Malik suggested adding some kind of film material in order to diffuse the light.

       Minor issues aside, students and teachers have given positive feedback about the new spaces, particularly the music areas, according to Emmett, who spoke with faculty members within the music department at the high school.

       â€�"They said the acoustics are phenomenal,” he said. â€�"It went over huge with the kids.”