WHITEHALL, Pa. — The brand-new, $6 million Whitehall swimming pool still doesn’t have a concrete opening date.
Originally, construction was set to finish at the beginning of April so the pool could open over Memorial Day weekend. That didn’t happen. In fact, construction is still ongoing.
The delay has been a source of frustration for many. In May, the borough refunded more than 800 bought and paid for pool passes.
RELATED >>> New pool’s opening date pending as Whitehall councilman, mayor at odds
Council did make a decision on passes at Wednesday evening’s council meeting. This season, they’ll be free for Whitehall residents.
“Council made a great decision and that is don’t charge for a pool pass. Then, it doesn’t matter when the pool opens because there’s no loss for residents,” Mayor Jim Nowalk said.
There will also be a discount for swimmers coming from nearby Baldwin. Passes will be 50% off.
“I think it will alleviate a lot of frustration that’s gone on,” Mayor Nowalk said.
As far as a timeline, the borough expects construction to be done by July 6. That date isn’t set in stone and it’s unclear what the turnaround time from the end of construction to the opening would be.
Channel 11 asked the mayor about covering the cost of the free passes. He told Channel 11 there would be a loss in revenue but doesn’t believe it would be substantial.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW