A Lansford Borough councilman suggested filling in the borough’s swimming pool and making a park for kids during a workshop meeting Tuesday.

“That pool has been closed for over 10 years now. We are not making any headway with it,” Councilman Joe Butrie said. “It’s a liability for us right now.”

Butrie pointed out that the borough will never have the money needed to fix the pool correctly, he said.

“We need over $3 million for that,” he said.

Borough council in 2023 decided against a new pool, due to the $3 million price tag and fears that the community couldn’t afford to maintain a pool long term.

The borough shifted its focus to a creating a splash pad instead, and applied for a grant to fund the pool alternative, hoping to start on the project last summer.

The borough learned last year that the state likely wouldn’t fund any grants for a splash pad without a site plan, Council President Bruce Markovich said at the time.

Council then applied for a $25,000 state gaming grant to hire a consultant to prepare a site and development plan for the splash pad.

The borough is still waiting to hear if that grant will be funded, Markovich said Tuesday.

He suggested that the borough wait for word on the grant before filling in the pool, as it could affect the potential design.

“The only other thing … there is a lot of misinformation going on around the pool, what kind of condition it’s in, and everything else,” Markovich said.

“I would like to open the gate down there some Saturday and I can take people in there and show them the reasons why they don’t have a pool and why that pool can’t get fixed,” he said.

Markovich suggested that they also do that before they fill in the pool and clear up any misinformation that is out in the community.

Councilwomen Michele Bartek and Gwyneth Collevechio agreed with Markovich, who said that they had members of Lansford Alive at the pool to show them the issues. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which funds studies and grants for pools, also told the borough that the pool can’t be fixed, he said.

“They will not give us any money to fix the pool in the present condition,” Markovich said. “People are always questioning … they think it’s just a matter of filling the pool back up with water and everything will be fine.

“People need to see the damage that was done over the years and the leaks that occurred in there,” he said.

Council members agreed that they should advertise a date and invite people to come see the pool and its current condition.

Markovich also agreed that the borough should fill in the pool, if they don’t get the grant for the splash pad site plan this year.