One of Hellertown’s best loved recreation landmarks is the Hellertown Pool, which has been a summertime staple in the borough for nearly 80 years. What it lacks, however, are restrooms that are compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
That could change if the borough receives a grant borough council decided to seek Monday.
The grant from Pennsylvania’s Greenways, Trail and Recreation Program would fund the construction of an addition to the pool’s concession stand, which is located next to the 1939 bathhouse building. That building houses the restrooms that are currently used by pool patrons, as well as showers that are no longer used.
The Hellertown Pool concessions stand is inside a newer building (pictured) that is next to the bathhouse. Most pool visitors enter the facility via the bathhouse (main) entrance. People with disabilities and parents with strollers enter the pool through a gate located between the two buildings.
‘To do anything inside the bathhouse would be very costly,” council president Tom Rieger commented.
Borough manager Cathy Hartranft said retrofitting the interior of the 80-year-old building with ADA-compliant restrooms would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Building a restroom addition at the concessions stand wouldn’t be cheap, either.
The application council voted to submit is for a grant in the amount of $244,375.
Rieger said that the restroom project is one of a number of longer-term projects that are on a borough to-do list; projects that are steadily being tackled and completed, he said.
The Hellertown Pool opens for the 2019 summer season on Saturday, June 8. It will be open daily–weather permitting–from noon to 7 p.m. through Saturday, Aug. 24.
For more information about the pool, pool rules and pool passes, click here.
The Greenways, Trail and Recreation Program funds projects which involve development, rehabilitation and improvements to public parks, recreation areas, greenways, trails and river conservation, according to the website for the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).
“Grants shall not exceed $250,000 for any project,” according to the website. “A 15 percent match of the total project cost is required.”
