The borough of Tamaqua began the process of putting together financing to cover a relatively small shortfall for a project to reconstruct its community pool.

As it does so, borough council President Brian Connely recently asked whether council would consider some extra enhancements for the “Bungalow” pool project, a total rebuild of the pool that will mostly be paid for with grants.

The base bid for the project is $3.66 million. The borough has about $3.2 million set aside for it, thanks to grants from the J.E. Morgan Foundation, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.

As the borough seeks financing to cover the approximate $500,000 shortfall, Connely asked whether council would consider adding more bells and whistles to the base project.

“I’m going to put this into perspective. We have a $4 million pool getting built for us and we have not had to spend $4 million,” he said. “We’re at a half-million dollar shortfall so even if we had another $300,000 or $400,000 in the options, like items for the kids and expanding the scope, we’re still going to have a brand-new state of the art pool for a million dollars. That’s unheard of.”

Adding the options —- such as a climbing wall, sundecks, special deck treatment, and a competition package with lane lining and other features — would cost about $300,000 more.

The options were included in the original bid package.

“My point is I think that before we go out and find a finance package, that we include the whole package — just because again, we have these opportunities,” Connely said.

Council voted to add the options.

Multiacape Inc. will serve as general contractor, with Vincent Pools as the subcontractor.

Talks of a new pool began in 2019 when it was learned that the Bungalow’s walls were beginning to deteriorate beyond repair. Borough crews had been patching them with cement each year but the fix was only temporary. In addition, it was learned that the toddler “wading” pool depth exceeds current safety standards.

The borough completed a feasibility study that included public meetings and surveys, followed by a 2020 ballot referendum that asked if residents would support incurring debt of up to $2.5 million to reconstruct or repair the pool.

The ballot question passed with more than 60 percent of voters in support.

According to information from former borough Councilwoman Mary Linkevich, who led council’s Recreation and Youth Committee before her term expired on Dec. 31, the Howard D. Buehler Memorial Pool — most commonly called “The Bungalow” — has been attracting visitors for generations.

More than a century old

Development on the site, which started as a spring-fed swimming hole, began in the 1900s.

In the 1920s, the Tamaqua American Legion added a bathhouse, and a bequest from the estate of Howard D. Buehler allowed for a complete rebuild of the pool in 1976.

Over the years, the facility added a concession stand, basketball and volleyball courts and a wooded picnic area with playground equipment.

When the borough undertook the feasibility study in 2019, it did so in an attempt to research renovation suggestions. It would soon learn the magnitude of the deficiencies — and the need for a rebuild.

“While these results were unexpected, the community recognized that reconstruction of a pool built in 1976 is timely and that the deterioration demands reconstruction to offer a more modern and accessible pool,” Linkevich shared.

The borough applied for a DCNR grant and learned in 2020 that it would receive $1.75 million.

The project is expected to begin in the spring and be completed in autumn of 2027.

Linkevich said the project is meaningful to her because she grew up spending summer days at the Bungalow with her sisters and friends — and new friends they met at the pool.

“My mom brought us routinely, and then when we grew up, we brought my niece and nephew,” Linkevich said. “My dad also has great photos of my great aunts and uncles and grandmothers at the pool or picnicking in the park, so it’s been a constant throughout my life and is one outdoor facility I knew the borough would not let deteriorate.”

She added that as more communities see their pools shut down, Tamaqua is “lucky” to have what will soon be a brand-new public pool.

“The citizens of the Tamaqua Area School District spend countless hours here each summer, and it’s a fun destination,” Linkevich said.

Through an annual donation from the J.E. Morgan Foundation, district families receive discounted passes to the pool.