Barrington’s Community Center Task Force was treated to a variety of concepts for the proposed facility last Friday, Jan. 20, at its first meeting in several months.

Then after reviewing the concepts for a community center developed by Roger William University students, the task force decided first to focus on developing a possible relationship with the Bayside YMCA for a facility.

The 39 students were part of a class offered by Gary Graham of Graham Meus Inc. Architects of Bristol and Boston. Graham is an associate professor of architecture at the university.

Graham’s students were divided up into 11 teams to simulate a project at one of three locations in Barrington: the Senior Center in the lower level of the library; Police Cove Park off of County Road, and the YMCA.

The students developed the pros and cons at each site, Graham said, and established criteria to be applied at each location.

From soup to nuts, he said, they developed preliminary budgets, construction schedules, transportation access and the actual costs to build and run a community center in each location. The teams also developed some models, Graham said.

Graham’s presentation was entirely hypothetical, of course, since the Community Center Task Force has not decided on a location for a facility or if a community center is even feasible in Barrington. A significant fundraising campaign is envisioned for such a facility.

After the presentation, the task force did consider the locations identified. The Bayside YMCA seems to hold the most promise and potential if a relationship between the town and the Greater Providence YMCA can be worked out.

Public-private partnerships are are not unusual for community centers, Graham said.

But exactly what programs could be shared or what tradeoffs could be set up and at what cost needs to be determined first, said Town Councilor Bill DeWitt, a member of the task force.

Edna Kurtzman, a program director at the Bayside YMCA and a task force member, said there would have to be agreements worked out if the two facilities shared attached buildings. The task force needs to work closely with the leadership of the Bayside YMCA, particularly Joe Martino, its executive director.

On that note, the task force set up its next meeting for March 9.