The public pool in Slatington won’t be ready for swimmers this summer, but the Northern Lehigh Swimming Pool Association has officially secured $250,000 in grants and matching funds for the repair project.

Katherine Barhight Herzog, the treasurer for the pool association, said they have been notified that they will be receiving $125,000 through a grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. With that secured, the association is able to get a matching grant through the Keystone Communities Program.

She thanked state Rep. Zachary Mako and state Sen. Patrick Browne for helping to push the grant application through and helping the association to get the necessary funds to eventually reopen the pool.

Barhight Herzog also wanted to thank the Slatington council and workers for their help.

“Thank you to the Slatington Borough Council. They were a huge help in helping us get the grants. Dan Stevens, the borough manager, was actually the one that came to us letting us know that these grants were available,” she said. “We are very thankful to the borough of Slatington financially. When the pool is up and running, we couldn’t do it without their support year after year. The borough workers have been a huge help, too.”

The borough provides the water and chlorine for the pool, and $10,000 each year to help with expenses.

The next step to getting the pool back up and running is to get the plaster lining fixed.

Barhight Herzog said the association plans to put out a request for proposal. This is a formal request for bids on the project based on the specifications in the bid packet.

“It will take a month or two for that to happen,” she said. “We’ll know then what the dollar amount will be.”

They received an estimate in August of $254,128. She hopes the new estimates will be similar, but is concerned that increased costs in materials may push the overall cost of the project higher.

If it does, the association has a little more money to try to fill the gap. They have received smaller grants from organizations such as the Rotary Club, and they have held raffles to raise funds. But the chipping pool surface isn’t the association’s only problem.

Barhight Herzog said the pool was built in 1961. Time takes its toll, and there are other things that need fixed and upgraded, but that will have to wait for another day.

She said problems with the plaster surface on the interior of the pool cropped soon after the resurface work was completed.

“Since day one, we’ve had problems,” she said.

Barhight Herzog explained that after the company resurfaced the interior of the pool, pieces of the plaster in the pool kept lifting away from the base.

Since there was a five-year warranty on the work, the company came back every year to repair their work. When the warranty ran out, they wouldn’t repair it for free anymore, she said.

“They were really nice people to work with,” she said. “Something just wasn’t working with the bonding agent in the base of the pool. The plaster coating keeps lifting.”

The pool closed in 2020 due to COVID-19, but also because the repairs were too much to be patched again. They were closed again in 2021, because they did not have the money secured to fix to the pool.

She’s hoping the next fix will work, because they can’t afford for this to keep happening. Just the insurance costs $10,000 a year whether they are open or not, Barhight Herzog said, and then there are increasing costs in wages and supplies.

“We’ve always tried to keep the pool costs low, but we will have to increase prices,” she said.

When they are ready to reopen, they will need a pool manager, as well as lifeguards and concession stand workers because their staff has moved on since the last time they were open in 2019.

As for talk that the pool could close permanently, Barhight Herzog said it could happen if costs become too great, but “we’re not at that point yet.”

In the meantime, she apologizes for having to close the pool again. She knows its disappointing, but she looks forward to reopening in 2023.

Barhight Herzog said she also thanks the community for all of their support with the fundraisers and volunteering to help with cleaning up the pool area by raking leaves and other work. She asked that people continue to check their Facebook page. They have more fundraisers and events being planned.