ZELIENOPLE — The community pool is getting a major contribution for its replacement and renovation project.

Tom Murray, a lifelong borough resident and a former pool lifeguard, is donating $100,000 to the pool.

“I’ve been active with the community park for pretty much all my life,” he said. “My family has grown up around the pool.”

Murray said he decided to make the donation after seeing what the parks board and borough and have been doing to upgrade the pool.

“I just felt at my age I should just jump right in and help as much as I could,” he said. “It’s something I think people should do if they are able to. This way, we’ll assure the pool will be there for another 50 years for the community.”

Borough and parks board officials said they are grateful for the donation.

“Tom has been a wonderful supporter of the borough,” council President Allen Bayer said. “We certainly do appreciate that he would do such a thing.”

Borough manager Don Pepe said while the donation is a “significant step forward,” there is still “a good ways to go” before groundbreaking can take place on the renovations.

The borough has learned it will receive a $700,000 state grant for the pool project, which has an overall cost of $2.1 million to $2.3 million.

The tentative plan is to break ground within the next one to two years, depending on funding.