Iconic Ligonier Beach pool no longer part of long-term township plan

The latest plan for returning the former Ligonier Beach resort to recreational use won’t include reviving the Ligonier Township site’s iconic swimming pool.

A locally appointed study committee has accepted a recommendation from consultant Mackin Engineers & Consultants to exclude the swimming attraction from ideas that are being considered for the 10-acre parcel now owned by the township along Route 30 east of Ligonier Borough.

“After careful consideration, the study committee has chosen to advance the master site development plan without a pool due to the complexities of permitting restrictions,” said Janell Emery, who chairs the committee and is treasurer of the separate nonprofit Friends of Ligonier Beach group.

Mackin, which was hired to complete a study and plan for the site, presented the committee with a list of permitting information filling more than three pages, Emery said.

Permits dealing with waterways and earth disturbance would be among the requirements, she said.

The shuttered pool’s location near Loyalhanna Creek presents an additional complication.

“If you put water in the pool and it floods, it’s going to disturb the waterway,” Emery said.

The swimming pool closed in 2018 after flooding damaged the pool’s pumps and the furnace in an adjacent restaurant.

Melissa Eller, president of the Friends of Ligonier Beach, expressed disappointment the study won’t consider reopening the pool.

“It’s not the outcome we had hoped for,” she said, citing historical, recreational and economic benefits associated with reviving the pool.

“We look forward to working with the township and the engineering firm to see what that property can become,” Eller said. “We think it’s a fabulous piece of land where there can be lots of great outdoor recreational opportunities for future generations of the township.”

The Friends of Ligonier Beach raised money to help the township match $50,000 in state funding for the Mackin study.

Eller said she wants the legacy of the Ligonier Beach pool and resort, which began operation in the 1920s, to be represented in whatever project materializes there.

“We’re hopeful it will pay homage to the great history of Ligonier Beach and that property and all of the wonderful things that have happened there over the past years, not to lose that piece of our history in the township.”

Opened in 1925 by the local Gallo family, the resort initially was known as Ligonier Valley Bathing Beach. The central attraction was the swimming pool, which was designed to hold about 1.3 million gallons of water.

Rat Pack crooner Dean Martin once sang at the facility when he was young.

With the idea of redeveloping the property for recreational use, the township purchased the Ligonier Beach site in 2019 from owners Sherry and Steven Kozar for $230,000. Grants from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the local Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation helped with the purchase and some related costs.

Federal funding, channeled through Westmoreland County, assisted with demolition of several buildings at the closed Ligonier Beach site.

With the current planning effort in mind, the township, in early 2024, returned to state officials $42,500 it had received for a previously planned accessibility project at Ligonier Beach. That project proposed a walkway and kayak launch to provide recreational access to Loyalhanna Creek.

As it gathers information for the study, the consultant has been interviewing key stakeholders in the community. Township Manager Michael Strelic said at least 18 people have been interviewed so far.

Next up will be soliciting comments from area youth, according to Emery.

“We are targeting the youth in the district,” she said, “working for a way to get input from the middle and high school students.”

She said the study committee will work with the consultant to plan a general public input meeting, possibly within the next few months.

“Information will be presented as far as what has been discovered thus far,” she said. “Folks can ask questions and offer input on things to do on the property.

“We are dedicated to incorporating community input to design an outdoor recreational space that will reflect the needs and aspirations of our neighbors and serve as a cornerstone for year-round activities and gatherings.”

The study committee’s eight other members include township Supervisor Erik Ross and representatives from the township recreation board, the Loyalhanna Watershed Association, the Westmoreland Conservation District and the Go Laurel Highlands visitors bureau.