Fiscal woes drain Borts
North Side Pool open till Aug. 12
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN — With the city’s eight-week public pool season opening today, Borts Pool on the city’s West Side is filled with water.
Its operating system, which has had problems before, is in good shape, said Jason Whitehead, the mayor’s chief of staff/secretary who serves as acting park director.
Yet the pool won’t open this year — a casualty of the city’s financial problems, he said.
That leaves the North Side Pool as the only public pool open to swimmers this summer.
“We have no intention of just operating with one pool in the future,” Whitehead said. “The city will have two [usable] pools, but not this year.”
The city is facing the possible layoff of about 10 to 25 employees because of financial problems caused by poor economic conditions.
It would cost $67,000 to operate Borts Pool on Belle Vista Avenue for the summer, Whitehead said. Last year, about 4,300 people paid to swim there.
In comparison, the operating costs of the North Side Pool on Belmont Avenue is $82,500, but about 12,500 people paid to swim at that facility. That pool is 2 years old. The city spent $1.28 million on the pool project.
Closing Borts would save more than $50,000, Whitehead said. Because of an increase of swimmers and lifeguards at North Side because it’s the only public pool in the city, Youngstown can’t save the entire operating budget of Borts, he said.
“If attendance is overwhelming at North Side, then we’ll [open] Borts,” though it is highly unlikely that will happen, he said.
Councilwoman Carol Rimedio-Righetti, D-4th, who represents a majority of the West Side on council, said she understands the city administration’s reason for closing Borts, but the decision is still upsetting.
Borts’ not opening this year comes only a few days after the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County gave strong consideration to closing its West Branch at 2815 Mahoning Ave. on the city’s West Side. The library board agreed to keep the branch open for at least two months to see if private funding could be raised to save it.
“When I look at this area, I see stabilized neighborhoods,” Rimedio-Righetti said. “We need stabilized neighborhoods in the city, so why are we taking things away from them?”
The councilwoman said she’s concerned that the pool area will become a target for vandals and thieves.
“I’m getting upset about everything is being taken away on the West Side,” Rimedio-Righetti said. “We are stabile here. I understand the city’s finances. I’d rather have police officers working than have Borts Pool open. But I’m still concerned.”
The city’s public pools have had an assortment of problems over the past few years.
The city demolished the old North Side Pool in early 2006 because it was leaking water.
That pool was originally scheduled to open that summer, but that plan failed when it took three tries to get a company to submit a proposal. Because of that delay, the new pool didn’t open until almost the end of July 2007, a few weeks before the city’s public swimming season was to end.
The city had to scale back the North Side Pool project, including the elimination of heating it, because of finance issues.
On top of that, Borts, the only public pool in the city in 2006, had to close for 22 days beginning July 15, 2006, during the hottest time of the year because of a tank problem that cost $77,000 to fix.
Last year, Borts closed 45 minutes after it opened on the first day because of a broken back-flow pump. The pool was closed for about two weeks to install a new pump, costing $5,000.
Borts, filled with water, “is 100 percent” now when it comes to its operations and maintenance, Whitehead said.
Even though there’s an outside a chance that it can be used for a West Side block party once or twice this summer, it is extremely likely it won’t be used this year, he said.
The city raised the admission price for the North Side Pool this summer. For those under 18, the price doubled from 50 cents to $1. For all others, the price jumped from $1 to $1.50.
“It helps cover our expenses,” Whitehead said. “I think it’s still very affordable.”
But he acknowledged the increase would bring in a “miniscule” amount of money, probably $1,500 to $2,000 this year.
The pool will be open from 1 to 8 p.m. daily until Aug. 12.
Years ago, the city had six public pools.
skolnick@vindy.com
Pool admission
Youngstown raised the price of admission to the North Side Pool this summer. The increase is expected to bring in an additional $1,500 to $2,000. The city got about $10,200 in admission fees last year. Here are the old and new fees:
kOLD FEE
50 cents for those under 18.
$1 for those 18 and older.
kNEW FEE
$1 for those under 18.
$1.50 for those 18 and older.
Source: Youngstown Park and Recreation Department