Scott Community pool to remain closed all summer
Commissioners share concerns about safety
The Scott Township Pool won’t open in 2020. A vote to potentially open the pool for the summer ended in a 4-4 tie at a June 9 commission meeting.
Commissioners Eileen Meyers, Stacey Altman, Angela Wateska and Tom Castello voted in favor of opening the pool. Commission President David Calabria, Bill Wells, Paul Abel and Kathy Gazda were opposed.
Township solicitor John Vogel said that because a majority of commissioners were not in favor of opening the pool, the motion failed. He said if the board wanted, it could revisit the decision at its June 23 meeting. Commissioners, however, said by that time it would be too late to find lifeguards and other workers for the pool.
Last month, commissioners directed a steering committee, made up of parks and recreation directors Steph McFerron and Kelli Watson, township manager Denise Fitzgerald, Ms. Meyers and Ms. Wateska to come up with a plan to open the pool.
“I’m a little hesitant,” Ms. Watson said of opening. “I don’t even have 10 guards that are coming back at the moment.”
Ms. McFerron and Ms. Watson outlined a plan for the opening the pool that consisted of splitting the pool into three zones — permitting 75 people per zone.
Additionally, the pool would have been open only to Scott residents, and those residents would have had to sign up for a time slot each day. Four time slots — one for seniors in the early morning, two three-hour slots and one two-hour slot — would have been offered.
The timed slots would have allowed for one-hour breaks for cleaning and disinfecting per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
The pool’s bucket, slides, diving boards and other structures would also have had to close along with the concession stand.
Residents would have had to sign waivers to enter the pool and wear masks while not in the water. Additionally, a COVID-19 team would have had to have been hired to clean and monitor social distancing. More than 20 lifeguards would also have been needed and the lifeguards could not be responsible for cleaning.
Ms. Watson said she was concerned about all of the guidelines they would have to follow and the possibility of not filling up all of the time slots each day.
“It looks like a logistical nightmare,” Mr. Wells said after the presentation. “I’m more worried about all the COVID that’s going around right now. I don’t want to
see this spread throughout Scott Township to everybody else because it was spread at the pool.”
The matter of liability was also discussed.
“Liability is a red herring,” Mr. Castello said. “You’ve got to be able to prove where you got it.”
Ms. Wateska, who has a master’s degree in public health and epidemiology, said she was “very cautious” about opening the pool, but if all guidelines could be followed, she said she was “for it.”
“We just don’t want to get anyone sick,” Mr. Calabria countered. “If the state and the county [pools] aren’t opening, I just feel we should follow.”
Allegheny County pools have closed for the summer as have municipal pools in nearby Mt. Lebanon, Crafton and Dormont.
“So many people live in this township and move to this township because of the pool,” resident Rich Drury said during the public comment portion of the meeting. “Residents are hot over this topic and I’m not talking due to the heat.”
He said he has three kids and they go to the pool and love it. He added that he canvassed his neighborhood and took a survey of about 80 residents and garnered more than 70 signatures in support of opening the pool.
“I think the residents strongly urge all of you to figure out a way to make it happen,” he said.
“The pool is not the only thing in Scott Township,” resident Bob Shalamon said.
Officials said opening the pool would have netted the township a loss of more than $37,000 this year. In a typical season, it costs the township about $383,000 to operate the pool, but if it had opened, it could not operate at full capacity.
Meanwhile, Scott Township’s parks and playgrounds are to open this weekend after being closed since March.
Commissioners came to the consensus to open the facilities after Allegheny County moved to the green phase in Gov. Tom Wolf’s reopening plan.
“If it goes yellow, then we’ll close again,” Mr. Wells said.
All of the township’s parks will be cleaned and sanitized frequently, including the restrooms. Signs will be installed in the parks to remind visitors to practice social distancing and good hygiene such as washing and sanitizing hands and not touching one’s face.
Commissioners agreed that the lights on the sports courts will not be turned on at night.
Additionally, the municipal building will open back up to the public Monday.
The library was set to reopen July 31, but that will be re-evaluated since the municipal building will be opening before that.
Commissioners, who have been meeting via Zoom and in person, also agreed to purchase $2,000 worth of equipment that would allow for continued streaming of meetings. At its June 9 meeting, some commissioners attended via Zoom while others attended in-person at the municipal building. The equipment will enable all members of the commission to participate more seamlessly, whether they choose to attend virtually or in-person. Residents will also be able to view the virtual meeting as it streams,
In other business, the commission heard from six residents who applied for a vacant Seventh Ward commission seat. Applicants included Cindy Volpe, Ashley Orr, Tim Wanzco, Wendy Fleming, Cathy Papariello and Nicholas Seibel.
The Seventh Ward seat was vacated by Frank Bruckner, who resigned June 1. Commissioners have 30 days from Mr. Bruckner’s resignation date to appoint a replacement to the seat for the remainder of his term, which was set to expire in 2023.