Recreation
Center’s A/C repairs linger like summer heat
Whether exercising your right to vote or just exercising, it was hot in the Waccamaw Regional Rec Center, where the repair of the HVAC system for the gym extended into its third week.
But the building was open for voters in Tuesday’s special election for School Board District 6 and for pickleball players, even though a sign on the door warned that people used the gym at their own risk.
A three-day closing was planned in June to repair the two 30-ton HVAC units that cool the gym. A crew from the county Facility Services division replaced the compressors and thought they were on track.
“Something blew,” said Beth Goodale, the Georgetown County Parks, Recreation and Community Services director. “They were trying to patch things to get it to work.”
The initial closing stretched into a week.
The gym remained closed the next week too, but smaller rooms reopened, including one for a senior citizens program.
It took maintenance staff time to find the parts to fit the aging HVAC units in the gym. Installation is still pending.
The voting booths for this week’s election were set up in a portion of the room used by the seniors – the portion where the HVAC wasn’t working. A partition was opened to help cool voters and poll workers down to 81 degrees.
Three of the 10 small HVAC units at the center were replaced last year and three more will be replaced this year, Goodale said. “A bunch of money has been spent on Waccamaw,” she added.
But there are other facilities around the county facing similar problems, including two gyms in Georgetown.
“It’s never ending with that stuff,” Goodale said.
