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KINGSTON — The Kingston Pool will have a significant “wow” factor look to it when it reopens for the 2016 season.

That’s what Kingston Administrator Paul Keating said about the $1 million renovation project that is set to get underway the day after the pool closes in August.

“It’s a major renovation,” Keating said. “When it’s completed, the pool will look substantially different that it does now.”

Keating said a major addition will be built to the pool, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, include a splash area and a jumbo slide at the deep end.

Kingston received $700,000 in gaming funds through the Local Share Account, administered through the Commonwealth Financing Authority of the Department of Community and Economic Development. Keating said Kingston will contribute $375,000 to the project.

“We’re all about the services we offer,” Keating said. “We have seven parks and playgrounds, an indoor recreational center and the pool is a staple of the recreational amenities that we offer.”

Keating said the Kingston Pool is heavily used all summer by residents and members of the community at-large.

“With the weather like it is now, the daily pool passes shoot way way up,” Keating said. “I drove by yesterday and there must have been a few hundred people using the pool and park.”

Keating said the pool’s new features will make it different than any other municipal pool in the region.

Allie Kane, pool manager, said there are about 20 full and part-time employees at the pool. She said members range in all ages and many families have used the pool for generations.

“I came here when I was a kid,” Kane said. “I love summer and I love the pool.”

Membership for a Kingston family is $180 per year; single, $160; non-resident fees are $230 for a family and $190 for a single membership. Daily passes for residents and non-residents are $6.50 per day and $4.50 after 5 p.m. The pool is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Kane said there are about 127 family memberships, each with two to 10 members.

Frank Hughes, who heads the Friends of the Kingston Pool support group, said a fundraising event will be held Aug. 1 from 7 to 11 p.m. Hughes said music from 1965, the year the pool opened, will be played. He said there will be games and food for the entire family.

“We recognize the valuable resource we have with the pool,” Hughes said. “We want to help keep it going for at least another 50 years.”

The Friends of the Kingston Pool has raised money to help with renovating the snack bar, locker rooms, steps to the diving board and general maintenance and upkeep of the pool, Hughes said.

“I’ve been a member for 25 years,” he said. “It’s a great family place.”

Allie Kane, manager of the Kingston Pool, talks about the improvements that will take place in time for next year.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_TTL072115Kingstonpool.jpg.optimal.jpgAllie Kane, manager of the Kingston Pool, talks about the improvements that will take place in time for next year. Clark Van Orden | Times Leader

By Bill O’Boyle

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Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.