City government and foundation officials are in talks to reopen some public swimming pools and recreation centers this summer, using private money.

The general plans are to solicit money from private foundations, corporations and other sources and channel it to the Pittsburgh Foundation, which would oversee the funding and dispense it to the cash-strapped city, which closed the facilities last year.

The city will likely need more than $1 million to open selected pools and recreation centers citywide, said Councilman Sala Udin, one of the organizers of the drive. Foundation officials, organized by Squirrel Hill philanthropist Elsie Hillman and Pittsburgh Foundation President and CEO William Trueheart, are set to gather Wednesday to discuss the plans and hear a funding pitch from the city's Parks and Recreation Director Duane Ashley.

The city already has money in place from the 1 percent Regional Asset District sales tax to open three of its larger pools June 19, in Highland, Riverview and Schenley parks. Opening them and another eight outdoor pools scattered citywide would cost about $333,000, Ashley said, all of it going to salaries for lifeguards and other pool personnel.

Extra money would be needed to open some city recreation centers, especially those that take over summer lunch programs for low-income youths, Udin said.

The councilman said he is hoping the foundations will pay to keep the recreation centers open past the summer and through the rest of the year, when new city budget plans could be in place with the help of state oversight teams.

Foundation officials boiled their concerns down to two issues: They want to keep providing services to the city's children this year, but they do not want to do so for long. In interviews yesterday, they and city officials both said the funding would only be for the short term.

"We feel it's important for the foundation community to help at a time when the city is going through a financial crisis, and it also shores up the work we've been doing consistently with regard to out-of-school educational programming," said Doug Root, a spokesman for the Heinz Endowments.

"It fits in with our funding goals in the community. It's not just writing a check to city government to fill in a deficit gap."

"This is something that can be done on a one-time, crisis basis," said John Denny, a spokesman for Elsie Hillman. "My boss feels very strongly that all of us as a community have to do the next, right thing, and that is save the summer. We can't let the summer go with no pools or rec centers."

Mayor Tom Murphy closed the city's 31 outdoor pools and 19 recreation centers during his sweeping budget cuts in August. While the cuts were severe, especially to laid-off workers at the recreation facilities, the impact was muted citywide, since the pools were already about to be closed for the season and children were returning to school anyway.

This summer would be different, and complaints have been mounting at meetings by City Council and the state-appointed Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority that city youths will have little to do once school breaks, possibly leading to crime and other problems. Time is already running out to hire and train lifeguards for the pools this summer, which is accelerating talks with the foundations.

"We're realizing now, to get any pools open we have to get something going right away," said Jim Motznik, council's parks and recreation chairman.

Ashley would not provide specifics yesterday on which pools or recreation centers would possibly open, but earlier this month he told council the following pools could reopen: Highland, Riverview, Schenley, Moore, Sue Murray, Westwood, Bloomfield, Homewood, McBride, Ormsby and Sheraden. (The indoor Oliver pool on the South Side is already open.)

Udin said about 15 of the 19 recreation centers could be reopened, if only part-time, in order to continue summer lunch programs.

Ashley was preparing cost estimates for Udin yesterday, which he will also deliver to foundation officials Wednesday.

Udin repeated that the key to getting private help will be the promise that the funding is only for the short term.

Councilman Doug Shields of Squirrel Hill, who sent letters to 25 foundations yesterday, asking for money for the pools, said, "I know from experience that you value those things that make Pittsburgh a unique place in which to live. I would be most interested in discussing this matter with you would you care to," Shields wrote.