Michaela Laverty, a lifeguard at the city's Jack Stack pool in Brighton Heights, can't wait for this summer's swimming season to kick off.

	Online Map: City pools back in the swim

--> The 18-year-old Brighton Heights resident is working this summer at one of the 16 city pools that will reopen today, thanks to the benevolence of foundations, corporations, civic leaders like Elsie Hillman, and more than 400 ordinary people who sent donations as small as $5 to the "Save Our Summer" initiative.

"People are thrilled. A lot of people are thrilled because Jack Stack is open instead of Riverview," said Laverty.

Her feelings, of course, are not shared by fans of the Riverview pool in Perry North, which won't be opening this summer, or out in Beechview, where the Beechwood pool won't be opening, or in Hazelwood, where the Burgwin pool will remain closed.

In a swimming season that was nearly derailed by Pittsburgh's budget crisis, 16 of the city's 31 outdoor swimming pools will open today, offering free admission to anyone who applies for a pool tag.

Tags will be available at the pools and four other locations.

The city is opening the pools with about $625,000 raised by local foundations and corporations through a "Save Our Summer" initiative.

Because the fund-raising effort was regional, the pools will be open to anyone -- whether city resident or not, city Parks Director Duane Ashley said.

Even with this year's free admission, Ashley doesn't expect a large number of non-city residents to use the city pools.

"There is little interest in most of the outlying communities," said Ashley.

The pools that will be open are Ammon in the Hill District; Bloomfield, Cowley in Troy Hill, East Hills, Highland Park, Homewood, Jack Stack in Brighton Heights, Magee in Greenfield; McBride in Lincoln Place, Moore in Brookline, Ormsby in the South Side, Phillips in Carrick, Schenley Park in Oakland, Sheraden, Sue Murray near Allegheny Center and Westwood.

The pools will open through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6, as staffing permits. Pool hours will be 1 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 5:45 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

The indoor Oliver Bath House on the South Side will be closed for the summer season, as well as 15 other outdoor pools, said Mary Beth Mueller, a spokeswoman for Citiparks.

Last year, the city sold pool passes ranging from $10 to $50, with reduced rates for low-income residents, and charged between $2 and $4 for single visits to the pools.

Ashley said he had "no idea" how many free pool tags have been issued thus far this year.

Individuals can register for pool tags throughout the summer at any of the 16 pools, during regular operating hours. Pool tags also can be obtained between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the City-County Building, 4th Floor, 414 Grant St., Downtown; or from 1 to 4 p.m. at the following Citiparks senior community centers: Beechview, 1555 Broadway Ave.; Homewood, 7321 Frankstown Ave., and Sheraden, 720 Sherwood Ave.

All 31 of the city's outdoor pools would have been closed this year, if the foundations had not bailed out the city with the "Save Our Summer" campaign.

The foundation initiative raised a total of $938,000, Ashley said. About $625,000 went to reopen the pools and $225,000 was earmarked to open seven recreation centers said John Denny, director of community relations for the Hillman Co. and a spokesman for Elsie Hillman. He said some of the extra money was used to market the campaign to "Save Our Summer," paying for advertising and promotions.

Hillman, a Squirrel Hill philanthropist, and William Trueheart, of the Pittsburgh Foundation, spearheaded the effort which sought money from foundations and corporations.

Denny said the "real heart-warming thing" was that more than 400 individuals contributed "everything from $5 to $13,000."

"That was the most impressive and exciting thing to happen," he said.

Ashley said the city is gathering data through the pool tag application process that will be processed to help determine how many people use the pools and which pools they frequent.

"Next year, we will probably have fewer pools," Ashley said. "We need to know what pools they frequent and what neighborhoods are being under served" to make informed decisions.

Correction/Clarification: (Published June 17, 2004) The West Penn pool, one of 15 outdoor pools closed by the city, is located in Polish Hill, not Bloomfield. Its neighborhood was incorrect on a map accompanying this story in June 16, 2004 editions. >