Hickory Park pool repairs approved
NEW HANOVER >> The township pool in Hickory Park is expected to open on time, thanks to a unanimous supervisors vote to undertake $64,000 worth of repairs.
The unanimous vote came at the March 7 meeting and awarded the bid to All State Technology, LLC of Oak Ridge, N.J., which was the low bidder.
The work will consist mainly of re-surfacing the pool and replacing some tiles, said Township Manager Jamie Gwynn. No mechanical or systems repairs are needed.
The township had budgeted $55,000 for the repairs, but de-
cided to move ahead with the repairs to have the pool ready for the swimming season and because “the data shows our pool makes a profit,” said Gwynn.
That circumstance is unusual for public pools and semi-public pools, which have struggled in recent years.
In Pottstown, the North End Pool, a private pool club, has struggled to maintain membership and makes its finances work.
In neighboring West Pottsgrove, the township takeover and repair of the former private Colonial Pool club has not gone well. There the township has struggled to find an operator and has gone three years without being open for a full season.
West Pottsgrove Township Commissioners’ Chairman Steve Miller has said 2019 is the year a final decision about the township pool must be made and a committee is examining the issue.
“We actually got pretty lucky with that bid, because the next closest one was $83,000 and then $91,000 and $99,000,” said Gwynn. “We checked their references and had like 20 or 30 references and a lot of them were from townships.”
As a result of the bid being accepted, “the pool will be open by Memorial Day,” Gwynn said. The pool season is from May 25 to Sept. 2.
The township took over ownership of the pool when it purchased 21-acre Hickory Park in 2009 for $800,000, 80 percent of which was covered by the Montgomery County Open space program.
It had been the site of a campground and mobile home park that was the source of a small sewer system that was leaking into Swamp Creek and residents who were living in the trailers year-round.
Gwynn said the pool membership registration is now open for township residents only until April 15, after-which out-of-town residents can apply for membership. You can apply online through the township website newhanover-pa.org or at the township building, 2943 North Charlotte St., Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Season passes are $200 for a family of four residents and $250 for non-residents. There is a $15 cost for each additional family member beyond four.
• A single membership is $85 for township residents and $130 for nonresidents.
• Senior citizen memberships are $50 for residents and $70 for non-residents.
• Without a membership, daily rates are $6 per day for adult township residents and $8 per day for non-residents.
• Children (ages 2-12) are $5 per day for residents and $7 per day for non-residents.
• Seniors (ages 62 and over) are $2 per day for residents and $4 per day for non-residents.
• Children under the age of two are free and those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.