City reopens Borts Pool

Print Story

Email to Friend

Discuss this story

The city hopes to extend the swimming season now that the pool is open.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

CITY HALL REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown's only public pool is reopened after the city spent about $77,000 for the emergency replacement of filtration tanks at the facility.

The city closed Borts Pool on Belle Vista Avenue on the West Side July 15 when one of three tanks that pump chlorine into the pool developed a 6-inch hole, making it inoperable. Another tank had been broken for some time, and the one remaining tank couldn't properly do the job by itself, said Joseph R. McRae, the city's park and recreation director.

The city spent about $77,000 for Prout Boiler Heating & Welding Co. of Youngstown for the work needed to replace the three old tanks with two new ones.

Borts reopened without much fanfare or swimmers Sunday, after being closed 22 days.

The city wants to extend the swimming season, which was to end next week, by two weeks, McRae said. This depends on the availability of pool staffers, he said. Some of the lifeguards are college students who are returning to school in the coming weeks.

Borts opened for the season June 16 and closed a month later, during the hottest time of the year so far. Of the 22 days the pool was closed, the temperature hit at least 85 degrees 12 times, according to National Weather Service statistics.

The city once had six public pools, but that number decreased to two in recent years.

Borts was the only public pool opened this year because the city demolished the North Pool, on Belmont Avenue on the North Side, earlier this year because it was losing water. The pool was originally scheduled to open this summer, but changes in the project's scope led to delays.

The pool is undergoing a $1.05 million improvement project. Demolition work on the site was completed earlier this year, but the construction phase has yet to begin.

The best-case scenario for that work to be done is October, said John Evan, vice president and senior project manager for ES&C International, the Youngstown company serving as the pool's engineer. But that is based on a number of variables, including about 45 good weather days for construction, Evan said.

The company is finishing its designs Aug. 15, and will submit them on that date to the Ohio Department of Health for approval, Evan said. That approval process could take up to 30 days, he said.

The city will advertise for bids for the work around Aug. 15, Evan said.

"October was the best case, and if things go as planned with bidding, there's still a possibility" that will still be the completion date, he said. "Rain would delay the project. If we have a nice Indian summer, we'll be fine. It's hard to put an exact date on it."

The old North Pool could hold up to 400 people, while 600 people will be able to use the new pool at the same time. Unlike the old pool, the new one will be heated.

Also, there will be splash pads that shoot streams of water, a diving area, and the facility will have mechanical and electrical upgrades, and renovations to the restrooms.

"When the kids see the new pool next season, they won't even remember this year without the pool," Evan said.

skolnick@vindy.com

Monday, August 7, 2006