Pool at Memorial Park to be demolished, filled in
After sitting empty for more than a decade, the pool at Butler Memorial Park is finally being filled.
But don't grab your swim trunks and beach towels yet because it's not being filled in with water, but concrete, as the result of a county grant the city received to demolish the long-defunct pool.
A crew started the demolition Thursday, and Councilman Jeff Smith said the future of the site is much drier.
“Within the next week or two, it should be all down and the pool filled in, and everything will be seeded for the spring,” he said. “Right now, the plan is for it to be a green space, and in the next few years the city will look at some alternatives.”
The Butler County Redevelopment Authority submitted a grant application to the Department of Community and Economic Development for $100,000 on behalf of the city last year.
Butler building code official John Evans said the city got about eight bids for the demolition project, and it is entirely paid for by the grant.
The pool closed in 2004 after being used by different entities, which Smith said included the Butler YMCA. He also said the longer the pool sat unused, the less chance it had of being salvaged.
“It really wasn't financially feasible for them to keep it maintained and keep it open,” Smith said. “Everything just deteriorated after it was shut down, and it has just been an eyesore since then.”
Evans also said the structure was getting past the point of no return.
“The roof of the pool building was starting to fail,” Evans said. “There were other safety issues with it and it was not in the position to be fixed.”
Evans also said the city may pursue grant opportunities to further develop the green space, possibly to focus on recreational opportunities.
Smith said the site that formerly housed the pool could evolve into a new hub of some sort, with some community input.
“Now that it's gone, that space will just have a totally different look for people and be an asset to the city,” he said.
