The Smithfield YMCA is renovating its swimming pool area and has taken off the roof over the pool. The rusted roof trusses will be removed and replaced while the pool remains covered.

The Providence Journal / Andrew Dickerman

SMITHFIELD — A big sign in the lobby of the Smithfield YMCA tells visitors the facility is undergoing a major renovation project, just in case they didn’t notice that half the roof was missing from the building.

The five-month project, when finished, will be the first major renovation of the center’s pool in 40 years said Harold Hemberger, chief executive officer for the organization.

“It’s lasted 40 years,” Hemberger said of the pool. “It lasted through the Blizzard of ’78. It’s just a fact that it’s time to replace it.”

The existing dehumidifier –– three large tanks in a back room — will be replaced by one machine about a third of the size of one of the tanks. This week, the contractors will take the remaining steel off the pool roof and install a rubber roof system, which Hemberger said will cut down on leaks. The walls to the pool area will be reinforced with steel bars and cement. The pool, which currently sits under a protective cover, will have chips and cracks repaired before it goes back into service. Hurley Construction of Wakefield is the contractor for the project.

The entire project will cost the organization $750,000, Hemberger said, which it was able to raise through donations over the last four years.

“We raised 95 percent of that amount from Rhode Islanders,” he said. The biggest chunk came from the Champlan Foundation, which awarded the organization $350,000. An anonymous donor also contributed $100,000, and the June Rockwell Levy Foundation awarded the project $15,000. The Shriners contributed $9,000 and Ocean State Charities contributed $5,000.

“It’s difficult to raise funds in this economy,” Hemberger said. “But the fact is,Rhode Island foundations stepped up to the plate.”

The remaining $271,000 was raised through private donations from community members, program participants, staffers and members of the YMCA. Formerly the Smithfield Boys Club, the Smithfield YMCA was formed in 1982, and today, has roughly 3,500 members and 4,000 program participants yearly.

“The Y is interesting because people think of it in a certain way, whether that’s as a gymnasium or a swimming pool,” Hemberger said. “But there are lots of things the Y does that are unknown to the general public.”

It offers before- and after-school care, summer day camp, child care, wellness programs featuring yoga, Pilates and weight training, and also facilitates preschool play and learning groups. Many of the programs center around the pool, Hemberger said, including aquatic safety and regular water aerobics classes.

While the Smithfield pool is being repaired, Hemberger said, members can use the pools at any YMCA across the state, and a select number of municipal pools for free. The Smithfield YMCA Dolphins –– the center’s competitive swim team –– will practice at Bryant University. And even though arrangements have been made, Hemberger said he understands it’s an inconvenience for the facility to have to close its pool, that’s why they waited until after the summer to begin construction.

But since the project began in late August, it hasn’t been without its missteps.

The pool shares a roof with the administrative offices at the YMCA. In late September, after contractors removed the roof leaving only metal beams over the pool, parts of the roof over the offices were exposed. Then came the rain.

“It was almost like it was raining in here,” Hemberger said. “There was nothing left that wasn’t wet.”

The weekend rains drenched the offices, and last week, papers that once sat neatly in piles on Hemberger’s desk were laid out across tables in an effort to dry them, while other items lay on a table beneath a sheet of plastic. The company erected a temporary rubber barrier between the two areas to seal the remaining roof from the pool area. Hemberger said the company has agreed to repair or replace anything that was damaged from the rain.

tbuford@projo.com