City still pondering Nay Aug Park pool approach

Aug. 1—The future of the Nay Aug Park pool complex in Scranton remains unclear.

City council Vice President Mark McAndrew and others voiced frustration over what they see as a lack of progress. Funding questions remain and Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti said she's not willing to take on new debt or raise taxes to pay for a pool.

Both problem-plagued pools at the complex that last hosted swimmers in 2019 have been demolished and filled.

After presenting potential designs for a revived complex featuring both a splash pad and shallow pool in late May — plans that didn't impress council — Cognetti's administration is exploring having a master plan developed for the park, including the pool site.

Officials have not decided whether to hold off on a pool project until the master plan is complete, which could improve the city's chances of securing additional grant funding, or to proceed with a pool project with a roughly $6 million budget, the mayor said.

Options presented in late May ranged in cost from an estimated $5.6 million to $7.2 million and included pools with a sloping entrance and maximum depth of 3 feet. They didn't appeal to Councilman Bill King or other members who want a more traditional pool conducive to swimmers of all ages.

The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources committed $2 million in grant funding for the project, but the grant requires a $2 million match. Cognetti proposed using up to $3.5 million in unrestricted workers' compensation excess reserve funds for the pool complex — money the state Department of Labor and Industry returned to the city several years ago — but Scranton would still face the prospect of a funding gap.

Pursuing a master plan first and holding off on a pool project would mean forgoing the $2 million grant.

"But just because we have a $2 million grant now doesn't mean we should go forward with a pool that, you can argue, doesn't meet either side's vision," Cognetti said.

Council President Kyle Donahue, who supports a master plan, expressed a similar sentiment.

I "don't think we should just spend money just because we want to put a pool there," he said. "And I think a pool should be part of the final project, right? But I think we just need to take an all-inclusive approach in terms of the park overall."

McAndrew doesn't oppose a Nay Aug Park master plan but said the city shouldn't wait to move forward with a much-anticipated pool project. He believes Scranton should pursue private support for a pool. He isn't opposed to borrowing for the project as a last resort, if the city exhausts other potential funding sources.

"We promised the public a pool," he said. "They're waiting for one."

Council hasn't provided feedback on how to fund the project, Cognetti said.

"The issue ... is there's a good deal of vocal support for a quote 'go big pool,' but no one who's advocating for that is willing to say how they would pay for such a pool complex," she said, noting a more expensive project "would require borrowing or a tax increase that I've stated I'm unwilling to do for this narrow purpose."

It's the administration's job to figure out how to pay for the project and council's job to approve the funding plan, McAndrew said.

Councilman Tom Schuster joined McAndrew in faulting the administration for a lack of progress. He believes the city could fund a pool for all ages for less than $6 million.

"When I was given more than 30 seconds to look at the actual $6.4 million (pool complex) option that was put on the table, it seemed to me that the thing was bloated by about a million-and-a-half dollars," Schuster said.

Several council members said the master plan should have been done sooner.

"I believe we all want to see this done right but it's taking longer than I had hoped to solidify a plan and begin moving forward on the pool," Councilwoman Jessica Rothchild said in a text message. "I'm supportive of a master plan; however, I'm disappointed this could add to the amount of time before we see an open pool complex at Nay Aug."

Contact the writer: jhorvath@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9141; @jhorvathTT on Twitter.