PITTSFIELD – Two major recreational projects – a new park at Mill Pond and a new swimming pool at Manson Park – are proceeding on track, Town Manager Kathryn Ruth said Thursday.

“These are amazing projects,” she said.

A residents committee has kicked into high gear on siting a new swimming pool, Ruth said.

Meetings have been held all summer to brainstorm new ideas and concepts for the new pool, which will be funded through grants, donations and a $125,000 local reserve account.

The existing pool was built in 1955, is a leaking asphalt facility, and can no longer be repaired.

Several new locations for the pool were researched, Ruth said, and two were selected as options. They include the existing site adjacent to Manson Park School, and on a vacant lot on Nichols Street that borders Manson Park, which was purchased recently by the park.

Some of the ideas bandied about by the pool committee revealed the need for a larger pool than the town now has; one with a shaded area for parents to sit and observe; separate changing areas for boys and girls; sufficient restrooms; a shower; lockers and administrative office space; a first aid station; inclusion of a separate wading pool or wading area; creation of a party room with a snack bar; outside lighting to allow for night use of the pool; buffering to shield the surrounding neighborhood from noise; and landscaping.

These ideas are only conceptual, Ruth cautioned, and are all subject to funding. The ideas currently are being incorporated into conceptual drawings to be used as part of grant submissions. A new pool is expected to be completed by fall 2007.

The park at Mill Pond, a former trailer park donated to the town by the Fendler family, already has been excavated and contoured by the town’s public works’ employees, Ruth said, and work is progressing on the sidewalks and the parking lot.

A fountain project, which will be completed through donations, also is being worked on. Grant funds, location donations of $90,000 in goods and services, and a small local match are funding the project and Ruth said more donations are needed.

“We are looking for people who can donate trees, gravel, labor and time,” she said. “This would help us greatly to reach our match.”

Work will stop for a while, Ruth explained, while the town works with the Maine Department of Conservation and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection on moving an existing garage onto a new foundation.

The garage will be used by the public works’ department for storage and the original bids for foundation work came in well above budget.

Ruth said moving the garage will require changes in the original grant that must be approved by DOC and DEP and the Town Council.

“The project will be completed before winter,” she said.