The Northern Lehigh Swimming Pool Association will receive $150,000 to finish repairs on the pool at Victory Park in Slatington.

State Sen. Patrick Browne announced the grant Thursday.

Katherine Barhight Herzog, treasurer of the pool association, said it was “awesome news.”

“I was very ecstatic of the amount because I didn’t expect anything that large,” Barhight Herzog said. “We were hopeful for it; I reached out to them in early spring because they got us money before.”

Barhight Herzog thanked Browne, state Rep. Zack Mako’s office, Slatington Borough, Washington Township, and her fellow board members.

“Also our volunteers; there’s been a lot of volunteers and community support to get this pool back up and running,” she said. “It’s been really nice to see everyone come together to get the pool open.”

Barhight Herzog said the grant “pretty much allows us to open next summer again.”

“It will allow us to finish repairs; we had to redo our skimmers around the pool and that was quite costly, and we had to do electrical work in our pump room, so that will be able to cover those costs and allow us to open on time,” she said.

However, Barhight Herzog said rates will increase for pool passes and daily admission.

“That would be expected, as everything has increased,” she said.

Barhight Herzog said repairs are in progress, but ”nothing will really happen until spring time.”

Previously, the pool association secured $250,000 in grants and matching funds for the repair project through Browne and Mako’s offices.

The pool received $125,000 through a grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and were able to get a matching grant through the Keystone Communities Program.

Barhight Herzog previously said that problems with the plaster surface on the interior of the pool cropped up soon after the resurface work was completed.

Since there was a five-year warranty on the work, the company came back every year to repair their work. When the warranty ran out, there was a charge for repairs.

The pool closed in 2020 due to COVID-19, but also because the pool couldn’t be patched again. They were closed again in 2021, because they did not have the money secured to fix to the pool.

The pool was built in 1961.