The North and South gyms were reconstructed after a student reportedly slipped and fell, Director of Plant Facilities Paul Nieman said.
“We looked at the flooring, especially in the South Gym. The products that were chosen by the architectural team didn’t do well when they got wet, and that expanded into the locker rooms and showers,” Nieman said.
The completion of the project cost more than $400,000 and took about 2-and-a-half months for both gyms. There will be some minor touch ups in spring, Vice President of Administration Services Rolf Schleicher said.
KYA was hired to fix the gyms’ flooring. According to the company’s website, KYA is “an industry specialist in surface solutions, sports fields, athletic courts and sustainable plantscapes.” Nieman said that this was KYA’s first installment in California.
“This is a product we got under a master agreement, which is wonderful. It has about a 50-year life on it. It’s tested by a lab and it showed a slip coefficient that was higher than what’s been required,” Nieman said.
The construction initially began with the pool deck and the pathways to those areas. Nieman said they have also reconstructed the North Gym’s locker rooms and showers, the bathrooms near the pool deck and the South Gym hallways.
“It helps with potential slippage and cuts down any bacteria and viruses that can be on the flooring, which we know can be harbored in water sources,” Schleicher said.
Norman Thatch, a Pierce College student studying theater, said he agrees that Pierce needs to fix the flooring. He said he is frustrated about how his previous schools decided to allocate their funds.
“I can’t stand it when they spend the money on books. We need to improve our school,” Thatch said.
Schleicher said fixing the gym floors is a positive change for students and faculty.
“We are happy it’s done. It’s a very bureaucratic process we have here. We work through the angles the best we can,” Schleicher said. “Work is never done fast enough to our desires but we do what we can.”
