For the past four summers, Scranton residents have wondered when and if swimming will return to Nay Aug Park.
On Wednesday, city officials unveiled design concepts for a new pool complex outside the fence where two Olympic-sized pools last welcomed swimmers in 2019.
“We've had a lot of conversations, a lot of different plans and a lot of dollars that we've all worked hard to find and to come to an agreement on these plans," said Mayor Paige Cognetti, while flanked by members of the city’s municipal recreation authority and city council.
Phase one of the pool project will create a handicap-accessible pool with a shallow area. There will be shaded areas and a waterslide. That’s funded by $3 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and a $1 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Local Share Account program.
Officials said construction could start this year. However, phase one is unlikely to open by next summer.
The city has applied for over $3 million dollars in state funding for Phase 2, which will create a deeper lap pool and splash pad. Scranton would have to match that funding.
"It really all hinges on that state grant," said Cognetti. "So we're working hard with our state reps, hoping our state reps or state senator will continue to want to invest alongside of us in this park."
The pools at Connell Park and Weston Field are also being redone with ARPA funding.
"We've all worked really hard across the city, not just here at Nay Aug, to make sure that we're investing in our parks, investing in not just the quality of life but especially our kids and showing them the investments that we're making for them," said Cognetti.
City Council President Gerald Smurl said, in the past, the city pools did not have a maintenance budget. With the upgrades, that will be a priority.
"We must maintain them, keep them up properly," he said.
Jump back into Nay Aug pools
Mentions of a public bath at Nay Aug Park date back to newspapers from the 1890s. Lake Lincoln was the city's first public swimming complex. It opened at the park in July 1909. Mayor J. Benjamin Dimmick proposed the lake in honor of President Abraham Lincoln. The city fundraised $10,000 for the project in just one month, according to newspaper archives.
Two Olympic sized swimming pools were built in 1968 for $650,000 under Mayor James J. Walsh. He was the first to dive in on opening day that July.
The complex was renovated and giant water slides were added in 2003, under Mayor Christopher Dougherty's administration.
In 2019, unbeknownst to anyone at the time, the last swimmers took a dip.
A leaking liner and costly concrete repairs were needed. Then, the pandemic happened.
City officials have gone back and forth since then on what to do and how to fund it. By 2022, the complex was filled in and feasibility studies were underway.
One thing was for certain, residents wanted swimming back at Nay Aug Park.
Bob Gattens is chair of the recreation authority. He remarked on city officials working together on a plan.
"For this park to survive another 100 years, that's what's going to take," he said.
Scranton has an Electric City Fund for those interested in supporting programs, projects and organizations which benefit the Scranton community. That includes public parks.
For more details, visit www.safdn.org/chartiable-funds/electric-city-foundation/
