On a hot summer day the Hellertown Pool’s famously turquoise waters can draw up to a thousand people. That won’t happen in 2020, however, due to safety and practical concerns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. (FILE PHOTO)
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has claimed another victim: summer fun at the Hellertown Pool.
Borough officials announced their decision to keep the beloved 80-year-old pool closed for the season in an email Tuesday in which they said it’s not possible to open it “due to COVID-19 and the requirements set forth by the CDC and the State Department of Health.”
And that wasn’t the only unhappy news contained in the missive, either.
Council and borough administrators also announced that two iconic summertime events in Saucon Valley have been canceled for 2020 or postponed due to the pandemic.
Hellertown-Lower Saucon Community Day, which was scheduled to be held Saturday, Aug. 15 in Dimmick Park, has been canceled in large part due to its dependence on business and community sponsorships.
“Because of the prolonged closures and financial hardships we feel it’s best to come back in 2021 after this crisis is past us,” borough officials wrote.
The other event that won’t go off as normal is the Music in the Parks free summer concert series, which officials said “has been postponed until possibly the fall.”
The email indicated that the Music in the Parks committee consisting of members of Borough Council and the Hellertown-Lower Saucon Chamber of Commerce will be recommending several options for the series to resume later on within the next month.
Five concerts were scheduled to be held as part of the series this summer.
Borough council said the pool will be specially maintained this summer to ensure full functionality and a seamless startup in June 2021.
To date more than 50,000 Pennsylvanians have been infected by the COVID-19 virus and more than 3,000 residents have died from it, according to the state Department of Health.
