Pittsfield gets ready to replace deteriorating swimming pool

PITTSFIELD – After decades of hoping, grumbling, wishing, complaining and dreaming, officials are gearing up this spring to replace the aging town swimming pool.

Built in 1955 through a donation by the local Kiwanis Club, the asphalt pool is now falling apart.

The base is crumbling, the pump has frequent maintenance issues, and the pool continuously leaks into Manson Park. The bathhouse is also in disrepair.

For years, town officials have been setting aside reserve funds to rebuild the pool, and this year Town Manager Kathryn Ruth said she will be seeking a state grant to augment the $200,000 already saved by the town.

“This is a very exciting project,” Ruth said Wednesday. She said that a local engineering firm, Kleinschmidt Associates, has donated its services, and area contractors and carpenters have donated as well.

Ruth said that although $200,000 may cover the actual materials needed for the project, prices continue to rise and new estimates are continually being made.

“We don’t really know at this point what it will cost,” she said, which is why the town is seeking a grant and continuing its fundraising.

The first meeting of the pool committee has been set for 6 p.m. Monday, April 30, at the town hall and will include an overview of the project and a work session to get down to the business of refining the next steps.

Ruth has scheduled time for creating a fundraising plan, and volunteers will be given assignments.

Also to be discussed are the conceptual plans, engineering estimates and plans, the donation fund, the state Land and Water Conservation Fund and grant opportunity.

Although pool committee members are appointed by the Town Council, the meeting is open to the public.