By Justin Strawser
MOUNT CARMEL - Today marks the first day of the Mount Carmel community pool, which will once again be run by borough manager Edward Cuff III after borough council attempted to privatize the management of the pool last year.
The Henry J. Honcz and Louise C. Honcz Memorial Pool will be open noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday for the summer, weather permitting, said Cuff Tuesday.
It operate for the duration of June and July, and Cuff will evaluate whether to keep it open through August depending on attendance and employee availability.
The borough had contracted with Neptune Pool Management Inc., Delaware, to operate and management the pool last year, but company officials informed the borough last month they would be relinquishing the duties of the pool back to the borough.
They weren't making enough money to turn a profit, which is common among public pools, Cuff said.
The idea was that the borough relinquished responsibility of the pool and snack bar's operation and maintenance as long as the company kept the facility open and safe. The borough maintained ownership, but the company kept the profit.
Neptune did not disclose any financial records with the borough for 2012 profits or attendance, Cuff said.
With Cuff as manager again, he hired seven lifeguards to watch over the pool and man the concession stand. He met with them Tuesday night to discuss rules, regulations, schedules, expectations and chain of command.
He is planning on hiring at least three more individuals to allow more flexibility in the schedules, he said.
The borough voted last month to approve no more than $15,000 for the operation of the pool, which will come from the Henry Honcz fund that was bequeathed to the borough from Henry J. and Louise C. Honcz in 2010.
With the exception of an extremely rainy 2011 in which the pool cost $25,000 to maintain, the borough was putting in excess of $30,000 into the pool each year with no profit. The concession stand and admission brought in $14,500 in 2011, but it was nowhere near breaking even.
One cost saving measure this year will be to collect admission at the concession stand instead of collecting it at the office, which should save an extra worker, Cuff said.
Plus, it will free up traffic around the bathroom, which could result in less trash to be cleaned up in that area, he said.
Cuff said there's even consideration to have adult swimming with a DJ at night at some point during the summer.