Decision on SEBCO Pool delayed by Jefferson Township board again
JEFFERSON TWP — A decision on SEBCO Pool’s $2.7 million renovation was tabled again during a board of supervisors meeting on Monday night, Feb. 9, due to a recent offer of financial help that came within the past week.
According to Supervisor Ford Stepp, the township received a call on Friday, Feb. 6, from the administrator of a family trust operated by PNC Bank who expressed interest in making a donation to cover at least part of the costs of the renovation.
“The board of trustees is meeting on Wednesday, (Feb. 11),” Stepp said. “And from what he indicated, he would reach out to me relatively quickly at the conclusion of a meeting and discuss what the decision was in terms of the financial amount they’re willing to grant toward this project.”
The township will hold a special meeting, in which a final vote will likely be taken, at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 16, immediately after the planning commission’s regular meeting.
Stepp said the decision to table the final vote for a week will give the supervisors time to evaluate the situation.
“It’s to weigh all the options,” Stepp said.
Since December, the board has weighed the decision of whether or not to appropriate more than $600,000 toward the total required to renovate SEBCO Pool.
The pool has infrastructure dating back to its opening in the 1960s. The renovation would give the pool a new liner, heater, filtration room and other enhancements.
In December, it was revealed the cheapest bid for the renovation for the pool, submitted by Mainline Construction, would come out to just over $2.7 million. The figure is more than $600,000 more than what Jefferson Township allocated for the project in its 2026 budget.
The project would be partially offset by $925,000 in grant funding from three different state grants.
In late January, the township held a special public hearing to gather input from residents — both inside and outside the township — on whether they thought spending money on the renovation was worthwhile. The hearing drew such a crowd it was moved into the township’s garage next door and drew sharp opinions in all directions.
Next Monday’s meeting will be held at the municipal building as usual.
While Stepp couldn’t say definitively whether a final decision would be made during the special meeting, he implied the township was running out of time.
“We’re up against it now,” Stepp said.
