Community pool dominates talk at joint Peters meeting
McMURRAY – The need for a community swimming pool dominated discussion Monday at a joint meeting of Peters Township’s council and school board.
The joint meeting is held annually for the two boards to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Council is gearing up to do a $40,000 feasibility study later this year to determine whether a pool makes financial sense. If it does, then a determination will be made of the type of pool should be built and where it should it be located.
School board officials, meanwhile, are planning on bringing in architects for ideas on how to freshen up Peters Township High School, which was constructed in the late 1960s. Plans could include what to do with the school’s swimming pool, which some say is becoming outdated.
Both council and the school board agreed they would like to work together and come up with a way to build a swimming pool that would serve both of their needs and, perhaps more importantly, be cost-efficient.
“It has been a longstanding request,” said council Chairman Robert Lewis of a community swimming pool. “I am very much an advocate for a joint facility.”
At a community meeting last year, held to get citizen input on what residents want at the township’s six parks and recreation spaces, a swimming pool was at the top of the list.
The school board and council also agreed that if a community swimming pool was built, it should be a 12-month facility and offer services such as swimming lessons.
Jennifer Murphy, Peters Township assistant superintendent, said the school district has spent more than $500,000 on piecemeal repairs at the high school in recent years. She said it does not make financial sense for the district to keep doing these kinds of repairs at the school, which will soon need window replacement and possibly a new roof.