Supporters want to see pool return in some form at Nay Aug Park
Aug. 8—SCRANTON — Neill Ackerman of the Hill Section moved into the city 40 years ago and enjoyed taking his two young children to Nay Aug Park's pool complex.
They started out in the shallower pool and "graduated" to the lap pool with diving boards. His daughter then did the same after she got married. The complex, which also used to host swim meets and night swimming, was part of the fabric of many childhoods, he said.
"It was really a tremendous, big influence and now it's zero," Ackerman said Tuesday during an informal meeting for public input about what kind of pool complex the city should revive at the park.
Nay Aug Park has not had pools for the past four years — a drought that broke a 50-year tradition of having pools there since 1968, and a prior 60-year run of the former Lake Lincoln that opened in 1909.
With future pool plans undetermined and up for discussion, the city faces a momentous decision of what kind of pool site to revive at the park. In the spring, the city embarked on a Nay Aug Park pool feasibility study and design project, with leaders envisioning replacing the two former pools with a 5,000-square-foot splash pad and a 12,375-square-foot pool with a wading entry area and an area for lap swimmers.
Scranton recently contracted Philadelphia-based BKP Architects PC, which scheduled three informal meetings to gather public input and feedback.
Tuesday's meeting at United Neighborhood Centers' community room in South Side followed the first session Aug. 1 at Nay Aug Park. The third and final input meeting will be Aug. 15 at Weston Field House, 982 Providence Road, at 5:30 p.m.
"The idea of public meetings is to solicit your thoughts. We want to hear what you want to do, what you think should happen here," Joseph Powell of BKP told a dozen people who attended Tuesday's meeting at UNC.
The first two meetings generally followed two tracks, with people recalling fond memories of frequenting the park's pools and lake as youths and bringing their own children and grandchildren there and saying what they would like to see there in the future — a pool or splash pad, or both.
"Nay Aug Park is a hidden gem and could be the heart of the city of Scranton, but I think the pool is a big part of that," Hill Section resident John Kirrane said. "When there's nothing there and it's just a filled-in hole, it does definitely leave a void in the park. I think it changes the vibe around people's participation, particularly in the nicer months."
All who have spoken at the two sessions have favored having a pool return, though there has been some disagreement on whether diving boards and slides should also return.
"Nay Aug has always been a jewel. I really feel we need a pool," and one with diving boards, said South Side resident Mary Ann Moskalczak.
Regarding a splash pad, opinions have been mixed. Some who have spoken at the sessions oppose a splash pad, while others think one would be a good addition for youngsters, to give them their own spot away from teens and adults.
"It (Nay Aug Park) does not need a splash pad. It's a waste of money. What we need is water slides," Ackerman said, noting the city already has a splash pad at Novembrino Park in West Side. He claimed that kids don't get any exercise at a splash pad.
Norma Jeffries of the Hill Section disagreed and advocated for a splash pad at Nay Aug Park. She said youths at Novembrino get plenty of exercise at the splash pad there.
"They're not sitting. They're running and skipping and playing in that water and having the best time," Jeffries said.
Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5185; @jlockwoodTT on Twitter.
