Fate of SEBCO Pool in flux as bids again go over budget
JEFFERSON TWP -- The township tabled a decision to appropriate more than $601,000 in additional funds to the renovation of SEBCO Pool, the annual summer hot spot which serves the southeastern portion of Butler County.
The decision Monday, Dec. 8, came after township manager Leo Rosenbauer revealed that bids for the long-awaited total renovation of the pool had once again exceeded the amount the township had budgeted for the project. The lowest bids for all three components for the project — construction, plumbing, and electrical — add up to $2,701,080, exceeding the township’s budgeted amount of $2.1 million.
Should the township decide to appropriate additional money to the pool renovation, it would not require a last-minute raising of taxes. Instead, the plan is for the township to use money from other sources, including the capital reserve fund and Act 13 impact fees, to cover the gap.
“It would just be a transfer of funds from one pocket to the other, so to speak,” said Supervisor John Cypher, who presided over his final meeting Monday night.
Plans for the pool’s renovation have been in the works since early 2022, with the township having acquired nearly $700,000 in grant funding from the state. The pool’s infrastructure dates to its construction in the 1960s, and the renovation would overhaul much of it by adding a new heater, pool liner and filtration room.
An additional complication for the township, according to Rosenbauer, is that letting the pool grants lapse could potentially jeopardize future grant opportunities.
“We were told by the grant authorities that if the township decides not to not proceed this project ... we were told several times to not expect any of the grant funding authorities to give Jefferson Township any funding in the future,” Rosenbauer said.
In July, supervisors put the renovation project back up for bid after they rejected the sole bid they received in the first round. That bid came in at $3.5 million, more than three times what had been budgeted.
Despite the fact that no taxes would be raised for the pool if the project went ahead, at least one resident raised concern about potentially funneling township money into something that might not break even.
“I, as a taxpayer in Jefferson Township, don’t want to have to subsidize the swimming pool organization for their routine maintenance, for their chemicals, and all that stuff,” Robert Beselich said.
However, Roger Cypher, a member of the SEBCO Pool board, reassured the public that the pool was not a money pit even with its maintenance issues. He urged the board to back the renovation project to ensure the pool’s survival for future decades.
“The place has been running in the black for the last five years,” Cypher said. “We’ve managed to get everybody paid, all the chemicals paid for, and fix up what we can with what money there is. And it’s just gotten too far out of hand. The whole pool needs redone. It’s common sense to fix it, redo it, and keep it for the next 20, 30, 50 years.”
If the township votes to go forward with appropriating money for the pool renovation, construction would begin as soon as possible, and the pool would not be able to operate for the summer of 2026.
In a separate vote at Monday night’s meeting, supervisors voted to approve the township’s 2026 budget, which includes a new 0.5-mill tax meant to exclusively fund emergency medical services. Aside from that, the 1-mill municipal tax will not be raised.
