EPHRATA — Upgrades to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning at the Ephrata Recreation Center are now complete. 

“The Ephrata Rec is one of our oldest buildings in the city and (upgrading it) is really impressive to get done,” Ephrata Mayor Bruce Reim said. “We're really happy with it, and it'll improve our environmental concerns over there. It'll also be a better environment for visitors and renters.” 

Basin Refrigeration and Heating started the process at the beginning of January and city officials wrote in a statement that the benefits are already being seen with better air circulation, less stuffiness, fresher spaces and healthier air for all the recreation center’s visitors.  

Reim said the estimated final cost for the ERC's HVAC work is estimated at $180,000 in total, but the city hasn't received the final invoices from its vendors yet.

“The Ephrata Recreation Center is used for private parties, you can rent it out, it's used when nonprofits come in, such as blood draws and stuff like that,” Reim said. “We have the father-daughter dance coming up. It's been a hub, activities, weddings, receptions and all sorts of things for a long time.” 

The Daddy-Daughter Dance is Feb. 22 at 6:45 p.m. at the Ephrata Recreation Center. The dance is themed Hollywood/Red Carpet this year. Daughters must be 3 years old or older to participate. More information can be found at the Ephrata Parks and Recreation website, https://bit.ly/EPRcatalog, under “Special events.” 

Also held at the Ephrata Recreation Center are fitness and wellness classes including a 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday class of Sit and Fit for $7. Sit and Fit uses a chair for support and helps people enhance strength, flexibility and balance.  

There are also tonification classes from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday for $45. Tonification is a toning, conditioning and strengthening class that uses light dumbbells.  

The upgrades will also help reduce energy consumption, making the recreation center more environmentally friendly and cost-effective.  

“It's better for the people with the (air circulation) and the heat and the cooling that will be taken care of,” Reim said. “The ERC was established back in the days when we had a flight training school out at the airport, and it was a big part of that. It's a World War II-era building. It just needed upgrades.” 

Since the Ephrata Recreation Center has finished with its upgrades, the city is focusing on upgrading the HVAC system for City Hall next.  

“To bring it up to date with all the environmental issues, that is a big gain for the employees and the police department at City Hall,” Reim said.  

Evaluation of the HVAC systems at City Hall, the Ephrata Public Library and the Amtrak building is being conducted by The DOH Associates, PS architectural firm out of Wenatchee for a lump sum cost of $11,500. According to city documents, the estimated cost to replace the systems in all three remaining buildings is about $350,000 and has been budgeted for. 

Reim said he is very appreciative of Basin Refrigeration and Heating, the citizens and the staff members as they are working on upgrades around the city.  

“We want to say ‘thank you’ to everybody who was involved with this and everybody who had to postpone some events and deal with the side issues that go with that,” Reim said. “We're very appreciative of our citizens' response and capability to work with us and the construction people to put it together. We're very happy with it.” 

    Ephrata City Hall, pictured, is in line for some upgrades as the city evaluates its HVAC system and prepares to install new, more efficient environmental controls in the building.