A municipal swimming pool is more than just cool refuge from the summer's heat, more than just a spot where children can splash and play their cares away.
It's a pulse point of a community, a part of many families' shared history, a place where generations of mothers and fathers have taught daughters and sons to swim. It's the site of many of life's first lessons, whether it's the smack of a belly flop, the sting of chlorine in the eyes or the thrill of a first stolen kiss.
Dormont Pool -- a historic landmark built in 1928 that includes a 60,000-square-foot swimming area along with a two-story art deco locker room and recreation center -- has fallen into grave disrepair. With unsafe bathhouse floor beams and pool leaks costing the borough $42,000 a year, the facility needs $2.8 million to renovate it completely and at least $30,000 to shore it up in the short run to open this season. The pool serves not only Dormont, but nearby Castle Shannon, Green Tree and Mt. Lebanon.
A responsible community must be a good steward of its treasures -- especially one that adds such vitality to the social fabric -- with citizens, businesses and government banding together to salvage it. And that's exactly what folks like John Maggio, who has organized the "Save Our Pool" campaign, are doing. He has collected donations door to door and held a fund-raising rally in the pool parking lot Sunday.
The borough is also trying to obtain a $75,000 matching grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Dormont Mayor Thomas Lloyd has appealed to state legislators for help and, in turn, state Sen. Wayne Fontana and state Rep. Thomas Petrone, both pool users, have asked Gov. Ed Rendell to free up state money to defray some of the cost of renovations.
All the pleading, fund raising and rallying is worth the effort. Saving the pool isn't just replacing some concrete and pipes, it's saving a tradition, a social treasure and a source of community pride.
First Published: April 14, 2006, 4:00 a.m.