Webutuck auditorium renovated, with plans to host community events

AMENIA —  When the auditorium of Webutuck High School flooded in January 2022, it became clear that changes beyond the surface level were going to be necessary.

The culprit was a burst frozen pipe, and according to Robert Farrier, school business administrator at Webutuck Central School District, the auditorium was at one point under 6 inches of water.

Now, a year a half and $3.5 million later, the auditorium is 90% renovated and equipped with much-needed upgrades to the room and stage’s architecture and gear. “I’m pretty sure the original lights from 1960 were being used for the stage,” said Farrier, “so the new equipment is going to make a big difference.”

Included among the upgrades are acoustic panels on the ceiling, which will amplify and increase the sound quality of the room. That a ceiling replacement was necessary, however, came as a result of an asbestos contamination. According to Farrier, prior to flooding, the asbestos had been safely contained. After, it became a hazard that had to be replaced, and required a brief closure of the school.

But almost everything in the auditorium has been replaced, from entirely new auditorium seating to a modern sound system. Among the new additions are a technician’s booth, and air conditioning that “will make the room much more tolerable and COVID-safe,” said Farrier.

Part of the reason the renovations have taken such a long time, however, is that much of the material and items required were subject to supply chain delays, particularly the seating.

Webutuck received the lion’s share of its funding for the renovation from flood insurance proceeds but had to dip into the district’s emergency reserves to complete the scale of the project.

Now that the work is nearly complete, Farrier shared that the school plans to make use of the auditorium as a community space. Already, the NorthEast-Millerton Library hosted a magician’s show in the space to kick off its summer reading program.

“But we’re planning on making it available to local theater groups that maybe don’t have a dedicated performance space, music groups, things like that,” said Farrier.