Memorial Park, Pool Improvements on Schedule

Plans for improvements to Memorial Park and the borough municipal pool are on schedule, with work set to begin on Labor Day.

Borough Engineer Vincent DeNave presented a concept plan for the park during Monday evening’s Borough Council meeting. Under the new plan, the baseball fields will be separated and a multi-purpose field put in between them. He said there would be limited tree removal and some grading.

“In order to accommodate additional activity, we separated the fields,” DeNave explained. “Younger kids will be able to play softball, predominately, and pulling the field that is currently behind the pool closer to the houses, but leaving enough of a buffer between the homes and the field to be courteous to those neighbors.”

DeNave said since his last presentation to the council, he has met with the county, who has indicated they are happy with the proposed parking changes at the site.

“They just prefer to have cars unload on the field side, and pull straight in off the road. That saves us a bit of room and avoids some of the problems we discussed before about foul balls and such,” he said. “With what they’re proposing, the sight distance is such that you can see anything that’s coming.”

The amended parking layout would also mean 14 to 15 new spaces.

DeNave said he has spoken to the neighbors and they’ve looked at the plan.

“We’re putting money in for landscaping,” he said. “If someone has a concern about being able to see something they don’t want to see, we’ll try to accommodate that with the landscaping. But there are no lights and it’s all grass. When you’re looking across the field during the springtime, you won’t be able to even really see the lines on the field. It will be a natural field, not that much different than what’s there right now, it’s just being shifted around some.”

DeNave said the pool committee has been meeting regularly and has made good progress.

The kiddie pool will be 40 percent bigger than it currently is, and will have a different shape. While the current pool is oval, the new pool will be rectangular at the entrance end, and oval on the opposite side. It will also have several water features that can be regulated or changed easily.

The main pool will just undergo some rehab, DeNave said, including being sanded down, a new surface on the inside, and a new tile band around the outside edge. There will also be all new decking installed, with a concrete based and possibly a surface called Pebble-Flex that DeNave said is “very nice, and very expensive.” He said that surface will be bid as an alternate in case it is too cost prohibitive.

He said the pool committee is particularly excited about using the former bleacher observation area from the ball fields as a picnic area.

DeNave said they’ve done pressure testing on the water lines and found no major leaks, just some small issues with skimmer boxes. The electric consultant did his inspection today and everything passed.

DeNave said painting on the pool house, donated by Monk’s Painting, started last week but there have been some issues with the paint not adhering properly because of the extreme humidity. But, he said, everything is on schedule to begin on Labor Day. He said he wants to keep the playground open during construction—with proper fencing in place—but everything else will be closed entirely until construction is finished.