Derry Borough eyes addition of pool pavilion, slide

Winter isn’t over yet, but Derry Borough officials are looking ahead to summer and proposed upgrades at the community swimming pool.

The borough is planning to add a second pavilion at the East Third Street recreational facility. It also hopes to replace a water slide that was no longer in good condition and was removed a few years ago.

Borough engineering consultant Gibson-Thomas is preparing specifications for the new pavilion so Derry Council can seek bids for its construction.

“We hope we can get it done before the swim season starts,” said Barbara Phillips, council vice president and pool committee chairperson. “We have to have Uniform Construction Code clearance.”

The new pavilion ideally would provide close to 300 square feet of space for rentals, augmenting a much smaller one that is less than a third as large.

“We rent it out for parties during days when the pool is open,” Phillips said. “This will give us two pavilions to rent so we can have two events at one time and generate some more income.”

She noted the existing shelter also is used for summer playground programming and by local youth soccer and baseball teams.

The cost of the pavilion would be covered by money remaining from $50,000 in state funding for pool improvements the borough received last year and must spend before 2025 arrives.

Pool planners also would like to replace an aging fiberglass awning for the concession stand with a new tin one.

Some of the funding already has been used to replace a pump motor and install a point-of-sale system. Toilets in the bathhouse are to be updated before the pool opens this year — usually the weekend after the academic year wraps up at Derry Area School District.

Derry is applying to T-Mobile for a competitive community project grant of up to $100,000 that could be used to install a new water slide.

The previous slide was actually a playground-type apparatus that was modified for use in the water and had deteriorated through exposure to chlorine, Phillips said.

“It was rusted,” said council President Al Checca. “We had to do away with it for safety reasons. We would welcome an opportunity to have one back.”

Phillips estimated the slide could cost $20,000, but she said the final project cost might be double that since the borough would have to dig up concrete to replace a water line serving the slide.

At its February meeting, council updated hourly wages for pool staff. Life guards will start at $9 in their first year of service, with pay bumps to $10 for a second year and $10.50 for returning a third year.

Phillips said the pool typically fills its guard ranks with local high school students, who tend to move on to other employment after they graduate.

Other hourly wages approved were: pool manager, $16; assistant manager, $12; head guard, $11; senior concession worker, $10.50; other concession workers, $9.

Efficient management and the influx of funding resulted in a small profit at the pool last year, but the borough is still trying to recover from a 2022 deficit of $30,000 at the facility, according to Phillips.

“Our goal is to break even,” she said.

Plans for the coming pool season include four nights featuring music by disc jockeys, including an adult swim, a possible Fourth of July picnic and the popular season-ending dog swim.

Season passes should be available beginning in mid-May, Phillips said. More information will be available on the Derry Community Pool Facebook page.