New Nazareth Pool Would Cost $5 Million, Open in 2015

They could choose a quick fix. Or they could just bite the bullet and proceed with building a new pool.

That will be the decision facing the Nazareth Borough Council members when they meet Monday night to decide the fate of the borough's shuttered 74-year-old pool.

Wallover Architects offered options to council and residents at Thursday night's work session.

And while one option is spending $61,000 to repair piping that might get the pool operational by July 4th, consultant Ted Wallover worries that the Band-Aid approach might not hold and sink the pool for the rest of the summer season.

So that means coming up with a long-term solution instead of a short-term fix.

And that option might be even more difficult for officials and residents to swallow.

For one thing, Wallover said the pool might be half the size of its current 100 feet wide by 200 feet long oval shape.

Secondly, the bathhouse would need to be replaced as well since it's not up to federal codes.

And those costs could amount to anywhere between $3.5 million just for a new pool, about $5.2 million for a new pool and bathhouse, and about $8-$9 million if the borough decided to keep the pool at its current size and shape, Wallover said.

Oh, and if a new pool is built, it might not be ready until 2015.

That would mean residents would lose two summer seasons swimming in Nazareth, Wallover said.

"The design might be a four-five-month time frame with one month of bidding," Wallover said. "It might be December before construction starts."

"I feel confident a temporary fix will work," he said. "But our analysis shows that a quick fix is not in the best interests of the borough. The sooner we can get a design going, the better we can control costs."

"With the Band-Aid, we'd just be throwing money away," Councilman Charles Donello said. "All indications are telling us to get a new pool. If we start now, we open by 2015."

Councilman Michael Kopach wondered how taxpayers, especially seniors living on fixed incomes, would handle being pinched for a new pool.

"It's nice to play Santa Claus and give everyone what they want," he said. "Either we have a new pool and chase seniors from their homes. This is a big burden."

While officials hoped that a new pool could open by 2014, Council President Dan Chiavaroli thought it best to get the construction right and maybe wait until 2015.