Music Could Return to Bay Spring Venue Within a Few Weeks

Local Brew Coffeehouses and other musical events and performances could resume on the second floor of the Bay Spring Community Center by mid to late September. The second floor includes a stage and community room.

Work on the lift that will make the second floor of the community center at 170 Narragansett Ave. in Bay Spring compliant with federal disability laws was completed about a week ago.

All that remains to be done on the lift now, said Barrington Public Works Superintendent Joseph Piccerelli, is a state inspector to examine it. That inspection is expected to come within 2 to 3 weeks, the standard time for the state’s only elevator inspector to get to the site. 

There are also a few things that need to be done inside the community center by workers for Tower Construction, said Piccerelli, such as installing trim around the door frame. 

And the fire alarm needs to be hooked into the electrical system and coordinated with the sprinkler system, he said. That electrical work all should be done in a few weeks. 

The last musical performance on the second floor of the former renovated fire station took place about two years ago, when Town Manager Peter DeAngelis Jr. shut down the venue because it was deemed not to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Indeed, there was no way for a handicapped person to get to the second floor unless they were carried there. 

Since then, supporters and friends of the community center and the town have been working to come up with the funds necessary to purchase and install the lift on the rear of the building.  Several concerts, for instance, have been held in what was a former engine bay on the first floor to raise funds. And several neighborhood yard sales have been held. 

The Town Council voted last March to kick in most of the cash to cover the approximate $90,000 cost of the lift and its installation so the second floor could be reopened.