The leaky swimming pool at McDade Park in Lackawanna County will remain closed the rest of this summer as the county pursues a permanent fix and sues the contractor that rebuilt it.
The county, which did not open the pool this year because of the leaks, sued D&M Construction Unlimited of Dalton on Thursday in county court for “defective work.”
The county has hired a consultant to study the reasons for the leaks and other defects in greater detail.
The study will determine the scope of work necessary to get the pool ready for public use again, county spokesman Patrick McKenna said. The county will then seek proposals for repairs.
“Well, their intention is to get the RFP out, and that should be fairly soon. Get the RFP out, get a contractor hired and get them to work this year so it can open next year,” McKenna said.
Efforts to obtain comment from D&M were not immediately successful.
D&M hired to fix pool
The county commissioners voted in February 2023 to hire D&M to rebuild the pool for $2.637 million. A few days later, the county issued a notice to proceed with the work. The job included tearing down existing buildings that house water filtering equipment and bathrooms and building new ones.
Delayed by what a county official called material shortages, the pool opened Aug. 9, 2023, about a month later than expected.
Even then, the pool leaked water, losing about a foot of water daily, according to the suit. Rebuilding the pool was supposed to correct past leaks.
The county blamed D&M for the ongoing leaks that November. D&M tried to fix the leaks in April 2024, but that didn’t work, and the pool’s opening was delayed again, the suit says.
Repairs to McDade pool didn't work
After the summer of 2024, the leaks remained.
“As of the filing of this complaint, D&M has been unable or unwilling to correct the pool leak issue,” the suit says. “Lackawanna County was forced to close the McDade pool for the 2025 summer season because the leak issue was not satisfactorily addressed.”
The problem must be fixed for the pool to work as intended, the suit says.
“And the uncorrected leak is potentially leading to safety and structural concerns, such as undermining the structural support of the pool,” the suit says.
Ponding a problem outside pool
The county also blames D&M for water ponding and drainage issues in front of the new bathhouse.
The suit says D&M breached its contract to fix the pool.
The county also issued a notice that it intends to sue Old Republic Surety Co., of Brookfield, Wisconsin, the company that provided bond insurance for the project.
Contractors regularly post bonds to pay costs if a project goes wrong.
McKenna said the county will seek money from the bond company to pay for the permanent repairs.
