Public input sought on reinventing former Ligonier Beach pool

Ligonier Township officials have scheduled a second meeting, with pandemic precautions in mind, to take public input on proposed recreational reuse of the former Ligonier Beach entertainment site.

The meeting will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 26 in the open garage bay of the township building to avoid the pandemic limitation of no more than 25 people in an indoor gathering. It will be led by the township’s Park Development Committee, which will make project recommendations to the supervisors.

Township Manager Terry Carcella noted local officials will wear face masks, and residents attending will be encouraged to do the same. The meeting also will be accessible virtually via Zoom.

An initial input session was held in February at Fort Ligonier. “We had 110 people there,” Carcella said. “We can’t have that in the fort now.”

The public will be able to view the Ligonier Beach site, off Route 30 east of Ligonier Borough, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sept. 19, so they’ll be better informed for the input session.

The township last year bought the iconic swimming pool and restaurant for $230,000. The site did not open the previous summer season, in part because of flooding damage to the pool pump and the restaurant furnace.

Among options being considered is a complete renovation of the pool, which could cost in excess of $6 million and would require an agreement with an outside party to operate it.

“You would need to operate the pool and restaurant together to make enough income,” Carcella said. “People have said they’d like to see it open again, but no one has come forward.”

He said a less elaborate option, with an estimated cost of about $1.2 million, would involve transforming the former swimming facility into a natural area and pond with islands, where fishing would be permitted.

Recasting the site as a more traditional park is another possibility.

“This is a huge process, so we’re taking our time,” Carcella said.

The township has received a $130,000 state grant and an additional $250,000 from the Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation, toward the costs of reinventing the property.

Additional grants are being sought through the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and, together with the borough, through the WalkWorks program — a partnership between the state Department of Health and the University of Pittsburgh.

The latter funding could be applied toward a proposed extension of the Ligonier Valley Trail — east from the borough to Ligonier Beach and, eventually, to Laughlintown.

“That would be a really cool thing if we could extend the trail,” said Ligonier Mayor Butch Bellas, who represents the borough on the park committee. “If we had one out that way, it would be used. The one by the (Ligonier Valley) high school and football field is heavily used.”