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WEST PITTSTON — The fate of the abandoned swimming pool at Baltimore Avenue Park was decided Tuesday by council members, who approved a $27,500 demolition bid.
According to borough engineer Tom Reilly, Smart Recycling Inc. of Dunmore will demolish the pool, the buildings, and the pool equipment as well as the fences surrounding the pool, except the fence dividing it with the Little League field.
“It’s going to be taken down to dirt and top soil will be put in it,” Reilly said. “The next step is for council and the recreation committee to decide what improvements to make” to the site.
Council members adopted a resolution at their July meeting last year requesting a trails-and-recreation grant to demolish the pool.
Council president Judy Aita has previously mentioned the possibility of a gazebo being put in the area for outdoor concerts and small gatherings.
Council member Ellen Quinn, who also serves as chair of the Parks & Recreation Committee, was sad to see the pool go.
“I think it is very bittersweet that that pool is going to be taken away,” she said. “I know many members of West Pittston that worked very diligently to get that pool over there and I am so sorry that it went into such disrepair and became so expensive for West Pittston to maintain.
“I, as a very young girl, went over there every summer and every day rode my bike. But I’m happy to tell the people that live in that neighborhood that it’s going to be cleaned up.”
In other business Tuesday, council members approved:
• Advertising for a full-time union position in public works.
• Authorizing PPL to prepare and submit a draft agreement for the LED streetlight conversion.
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