Lansford Borough got an estimate on filling in its defunct swimming pool at the Ashton Hill Park complex.

The quote from Peter J. Radocha & Sons was $35,000, Council President Bruce Markovich said during a work session Tuesday.

The borough opened the complex late last month for people to view the issues with pool, which closed in 2015 after leaking out more than a million gallons of water that summer.

Efforts to save the pool continued through August 2023, when council decided to give up on a new pool due to the costs involved and the community’s inability to sustain them.

Council then discussed moving forward with a splash pad and sought grants for the project, a process which has continued for nearly two years.

The borough is awaiting word on its grant application for development of a site plan after being told last summer that a splash pad grant wouldn’t be funded without a site plan.

Council discussed filling in the pool earlier this year due to safety concerns and children getting inside the fenced-in area. Murky green water also partially filled the pool.

Eight people showed up to see the condition of the pool when the borough opened the complex last month, Councilwoman Gwyneth Collevechio said. The pool is unsafe and beyond repair, Markovich said.

Councilman Joseph Butrie on Tuesday suggested asking the Friends of Lansford Recreation, the nonprofit group that led the effort to raise funds to save or rebuild the pool, if it would contribute toward filling in the site.

Markovich said that the nonprofit’s board would have to approve any contribution toward the project.

Butrie told council that the pool has now been drained, and any electrical service still going to the pump house has been disconnected. He said he found a bird’s nest where the service would go into the building.

As for the quote from Radocha, Markovich said that they may be able to incorporate the cost of filling in the pool into another project, whether that’s a splash pad or a pavilion.

Markovich also asked if the borough crew would be able to undertake filling in the pool. Butrie said that it would probably take them all summer to accomplish.