Diane Miller

ZELIENOPLE — A fundraising event Friday by a resident brought in $9,740 for a new swimming pool in the community park.

Diane Miller, who recently turned 50, organized the benefit at the American Legion instead of holding a traditional birthday party.

It was capped at 250 tickets, which were sold out ahead of time, she said.

Between ticket sales, donations and sponsorships from businesses, the event almost doubled its initial goal of $5,000.

Miller said there is a lot of enthusiasm about supporting the campaign for a new pool from both Zelienople residents and people who live outside of the community.

“I think they saw that it was a good cause for a great town and people were just very excited to get out and have an experience in that type of venue,” she said.

In addition to donations of food and gift baskets, committee members who organized the event brought in more than $4,000 from businesses, she said.

The committee of the Community Park Association board is raising money for a new swimming pool, which is estimated to cost about $2 million including renovations to its green space and other improvements to the area.

The new pool would occupy the same space in the community park as the current pool, but would have a different design and include more space for events, a heater and other features.