Ardmore Pool Closure Leads To Lower Merion, Kaiserman JCC Agreement

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — The Lower Merion Board of Commissioners Wednesday found a solution for residents affected by the closure of the Ardmore Avenue Pool this summer.

At a special meeting Wednesday night, the township's Parks and Recreation Committee presented a plan to allow 2024 Ardmore Pool resident members and township residents living within one mile of the Ardmore Pool to have subsidized memberships to the Kaiserman JCC.

The commissioners then voted unanimously to approve a letter of understanding with Kaiserman JCC to allow 2024 Ardmore Pool resident members and township residents living within one mile of the Ardmore Pool to be members of the JCC at the same rate as the Belmont Hills Pool.

Donna Heller, Lower Merion Township's Director of Parks and Recreation, laid out details of the proposal during the committee hearing Wednesday.

She said Kaiserman has agreed to split the cost of the difference in membership fees of the Belmont Hills Pool and its own fees with the township. And the township has agreed to subsidize half of that difference.

A family of two adults and three children would pay a $458 fee for a full season membership at Belmont Hills. That same family would pay $575 for a membership at Kaiserman.

The difference in those memberships is $117, and the township would subsidize half that difference, paying $58.5. Kaiserman will split the cost of the difference with the township.

The impetus for this partnership is proximity, as the JCC is only 2.8 miles from the Ardmore Pool and the Belmont Hills Pool is 3.8 miles from the Ardmore Pool.

Heller said Wednesday night that her department was meeting with Kaiserman staff to further discuss the plan.

"We don't have all the specifics of how membership would work," she said. "But we will shortly."

Heller also said it's unclear how many people were members of the Ardmore Pool in 2024, as well as how many residents are within a mile radius of the Ardmore Pool.

"We're approximating that if 10 percent of the Ardmore memberships joined the JCC, we're looking at approximately $4,300 for each 10 percent of the current 2024 resident memberships," she said.

The aim is to lighten the load of residents who are planning to take up memberships at the Belmont Hills Pool during the Ardmore Pool's closure, Heller said.

Lower Merion Township Board of Commissioners President Todd Sinai, while there is a cost to the township for this, it's a small price to pay.

"This is a $20 to $24 million construction project," he said of the Ardmore Avenue Community Center renovation. "I think if we had the foresight to lump this relocation cost in with that, none of us would have blinked. This seems like a no-brainer to do."

Gilda Kramer, chair of the township's Parks and Recreation Committee, thanked Heller and township manager Ernie McNeely for their work to find a solution to the pool issue.

"I particularly want to thank Alan Scher at the JCC who was very open from the very first time that Ernie talked with him and I spoke with him about the possibility of whether they had some capacity at the JCC and whether they could help us," she said. "From the beginning they were very open and very helpful to try to make this happen."

Heller also said the Parks and Recreation Department is also pursuing additional options for residents looking to visit pools this summer.

Lower Merion would continue to offer discounted membership fees to eligible residents based on HUD income guidelines, which considers annual income levels and family size. In 2024, less than 1 percent of pool members applied for a discounted membership fee. Some CDBG funds may be available for this additional subsidy.