Alle-Kiski Valley swimming pools will unveil a host of improvements and changes when they reopen Saturday, but one pool won’t be welcoming back swimmers.

No pool has undergone more change than Leechburg Area Pool in Gilpin, where the pool and grounds have received more than a dozen upgrades over the past few months.

A new board and a core group of 20 volunteers have been painting, refurbishing and reorganizing the pool, which opened in 1962.

About $10,000 in improvements were covered by Paycheck Protection Program money distributed by the federal government last year during the height of the pandemic.

Among improvements, the baby pool has been remodeled and will be open after being closed for the majority of the past two summers.

Pool manager Lisa Hamm said volunteers removed 28 layers of paint from the baby pool.

Featuring a new fountain in the center, pool board treasurer Steve Senjan said the baby pool overhaul was a priority.

“It’s been completely redone and is 100% operational,” Senjan said. “This is where we get our future swimmers. They start in the baby pool.”

Other new amenities and features include free Wi-Fi in the fenced-in areas, a redesigned volleyball court, a surround-sound PA and music system, new LED lighting, a refinished Blue Slide, new steel pavilion roof, new waterlines added to all of the slides for better flow and three updated flower beds planted by volunteer Jamie Senjan.

Also new this season will be outdoor movie nights, offering a family-friendly film as swimmers float poolside. The snack bar is reopening after being closed last year because of the pandemic, and a small area where people can buy pool essentials such as sunscreen, swim diapers and more has been added. Also new this year, credit cards will be accepted.

Board member Matt Jagodrinski, who learned how to swim at Leechburg Area Pool and later worked as pool manager during summers home from college, said the new board has a goal of increasing memberships and offering a warm welcome to members and guests.

“There’s a lot of good memories here, and I feel like kids need that,” Jagodrinski said. “I learned how to swim here, and it was so packed when I was a kid coming here you could barely find a space.”

The Tribune-Review previously reported the Leechburg Area Pool faced a possible closure in 2020 if a new board didn’t form and tackle primary pool jobs like opening the pool, operating the snack bar, fundraising, cleaning and maintaining the pool and grounds, managing the staff and handling the groundskeeping, electrical and plumbing work.

“The members can expect us to work hard,” Jagodrinski said. “We’re all volunteers, and we’re here as much as we can be. We’re all dedicated to work hard and bring the pool back to what it was in the past.”

Organizers said they’ve sold about 60 memberships, but are hoping to break the 100 mark. Senjan recalled that memberships used to hover around 200 years ago.

Prices have been reduced in an effort to boost memberships and usage. Daily admission rates have been reduced from $8 to $6 and discounted $250 family memberships are available until Friday. Memberships are available to the public and may be purchased online at leechburgpool.com.

Gilpin residents are eligible to receive half-off general admission coupons for every $50 paid in township property taxes for the 2021 fiscal year. Coupons are available at Gilpin’s municipal building.

Gilpin donated $2,500 to the pool this year.

“Having a pool gives great summer jobs to locals, provides recreation to the entire area and brings people to Gilpin that may not normally spend their time in Gilpin,” said Gilpin Supervisor Stull said.

Other A-K Valley pools

Elsewhere in the Valley, board members for Bouquet Park Pool in Springdale Township announced in March that the pool would close for good. After missing out on the 2020 season because of the pandemic and being able to do little fundraising, the board said it had become overwhelmed with debt, the Trib reported. The board said then that it would dissolve and put the property up for sale.

Vandergrift Pool opens Saturday. Officially named after former state Rep. Joseph A. Petrarca Sr., who served from 1973 to 1994, the pool is in Allegheny Township but owned by the borough. This year the pool is bringing memberships back after opting not to sell season passes last summer because of the pandemic. It also will offer pavilion rentals after suspending them a year ago, the Trib reported in March. Pool manager Daisha Clayton said then that staffers would continue to regularly sanitize high-traffic areas of the pool grounds this summer as a precaution.

The Sylvan Park pool in Harrison will debut a new heater and a new walkway to the waterslide, according to manager Nancy Tarella. A family membership is $200 a year, plus an annual $300 maintenance fee. The pool does not offer daily admission – pool-goers must be a member or guest of a member.

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