During a recent meeting, the five-member board agreed to hold off voting on a swimming pool renovation project. Depending upon the option approved, the project could cost the township anywhere from just more than $400,000 to nearly $10 million.
Instead, the decision on not only the cost of the project but also the financing arm will be left to members of the incoming board, three of which will be new to the board in January.
Construction of a new pool has been a topic of some heated discussion in Mt. Lebanon.
The $32,000 recently-completed feasibility study recommended several quite different approaches to the project. The most costly would include a new 50-meter competitive pool while the mid-priced option was a 25-meter competitive pool. Both would have a separate leisure pool.
The newest - and lowest priced option - would entirely renovate the existing 30-year-old pool, focusing on new plumbing, new filtration and a new deck. It would not include upgrading the locker rooms.
It will be interesting to watch how the incoming board members approach this volley lobbed to them by the outgoing members. It is appropriate for them to make this decision as they will be the elected officials who will, ultimately, need to answer to the taxpayers.
It seems that if a municipality does not have a pool, they are in the process of building one or discussing the possibility. What has sparked this seemingly wave of insistence for a community pool?
In the South Hills, consider that each of the following communities have an existing pool: Canonsburg, Dormont, Green Tree, Mt. Lebanon and Scott Township, with Upper St. Clair soon to be getting at least one. We're also surrounded by the wave pool in South Park and, not too far away, an additional wave pool at Settler's Cabin.
Swimming pools are a costly item for municipalities because the maintenance cost versus use is so expensive. In western Pennsylvania, indoor pools may get more use than outdoor pools but the demand for the latter is much greater. Realistically, though, outdoor pools are only in use three of the 12 months, and that is only if the weather cooperates.
When the Dormont pool was at risk of not opening because of the cost of repairs, residents from all over pitched in. A citizens group has been working since 2005 to raise the nearly $2 million the borough deemed necessary to completely renovate that pool, which has been a South Hills staple since the 1920s. While that group has achieved one phase, and was able to reopen the pool, two loftier plateaus remain
Perhaps other municipalities should take a closer look at what is truly necessary for the quality of life in a community. Given the choice between potentially increasing taxes to pay for a new swimming pool or maintaining a stable tax base, we would argue that most taxpayers would vote for lower taxes. It's an option we would hope the new commissioners would also consider.