Youngstown’s Northside Pool will finally open next week

By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The city’s lone public swimming pool will finally open next week.

The Northside Pool was in jeopardy of not opening at all because of a lack of lifeguards.

But Vernon Scott Jr. an aquatics instructor and four-grade teacher in Farrell, Pa., worked out an arrangement with city officials to have him manage the pool and bring at least eight lifeguards with him to work.

Getting the certifications for enough lifeguards has taken a little longer than expected, but that’s being finalized, said Robert Burke, the city’s park and recreation director.

The city will have the pool power-washed Friday and start filling it later that day, he said. The pool should be filled by Monday, he said.

A definitive date for the pool opening should be determined later this week but it’s expected to be sometime in the middle of next week, Burke said.

The pool was initially scheduled to open June 12, but couldn’t because of a lack of lifeguards. It was supposed to close Aug. 4 for an eight-week season that coincides with the city’s summer day camp program, Burke said.

The plan is to extend the season at Northside Pool on Belmont Avenue until at least Aug. 11, Burke said.

If enough lifeguards can work past that date, the pool will remain open a little longer, he said.

While it won’t be an eight-week season, a shorter time is better than not having the pool open at all – and it looked bleak for a while, Burke said.

The pool needs at least seven lifeguards to operate and will hopefully have 10 to 15, Burke said.