Funding for New Pool - With Diving Board - Approved

A plan to build a new municipal pool in Ramsey is going through, thanks to two borough council votes this week approving the funding of the $2 million project, and hiring a company to carry out the work.

And, the approvals include funding to add a diving board to the design of the new pool, a possibility that had previously been debated by members of the borough’s pool commission.

The borough council unanimously approved a bond ordinance Wednesday that will allow it to borrow over $2.6 million to pay for the new pool and improvements to several Ramsey roadways. It also voted to award a $1,956,500 contract to Pennsylvania’s Stone Ridge, Inc. pool construction company, the lowest of seven potential construction companies who bid to work on the project.

The council voted to include all of the alternative options in the bid, which includes funding for a diving board at the pool. Members had previously discussed whether or not the diving board was worth the increased cost, liability issues, and room it would take up in the pool’s new design.

Council members and Mayor Chris Botta expressed excitement about the upcoming start of the project.

“I think we really hit the target…it’s going to be an exciting project,” Botta said.

The project is set to begin construction at the close of the current pool season, and borough officials anticipate it will be open in time for the 2014 summer season.