At least three swimming pools in Butler County are slated for renovations that could cost municipalities more than $4 million.

Cranberry Township and Butler County already have pool projects ready for this year. Zelienople officials Monday discussed building a new pool in a few years.

Here’s a look at what is happening with swimming pool work in the county.

Cranberry Township

The most costly renovations are coming to the pool in Cranberry’s North Boundary Park. Officials plan to spend more than $1.6 million to upgrade the facility, which is more than 17 years old and caters to more than 70,000 people a year.

Township Parks and Recreation Director Pete Geis said construction will likely start in the fall while the facility will be reopened for next summer.

Officials spent months soliciting input from residents on what they’d like to see at the pool, and the renovation plans mirror those suggestions.

The plans call for expanding the zero-depth pool for children and separating the different pools from each other at the 15,000-square-foot pool.

Currently, all of the five pools at the facility are connected. With the changes, Geis said an accident or issue in one of the pools will no longer shut down the entire facility once they’re separated.

The facility also will get a new filtration system and additional amenities, such as a rock-climbing wall and a “dump bucket.”

The entire surface at the bottom of the pool also will be replaced, Geis said.

“Cranberry Township has done such a phenomenal job with upkeep that we’ve really been able to maximize the life span of that pool,” Geis said.

Butler County

Another renovation is coming to the pool at Alameda Park in Butler Township, a pool that opened in 1972 and was last renovated in 1998.

Crews plan on installing a new concrete deck at the pool while contractors will add slides, a splash pad, a handicap-accessible stair entry and a climbing wall.

The project is funded by a $400,000 state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant, $300,000 from timbering revenue and the remaining amount from natural gas drilling impact fee money.

Gary Pinkerton of the county parks and recreation department said Tuesday the renovations will start in the fall, which means the pool will be open in time for next summer.

“It’s just like any other housekeeping issue where we have to keep up with repairs,” he said.

Zelienople

Another project is being considered at Zelienople’s Community Park pool, which was built in 1957.

That project wouldn’t start until at least 2017 because the borough needs time to apply for state grants and to seek donations and sponsorships, according to park board President Jeff Barkley.

The concrete beneath the pool has deteriorated beyond repair because of its age, making replacing the pool the only viable option. The project could cost as much as $1.5 million.

The park board will seek public feedback on the plans for the new pool before asking for borough approval.

City won’t build

But another pool that’s been closed for a number of years will remain closed.

Bill May, a Butler City Council member and overseer of the city parks and recreation department, said there aren’t any plans to reopen the pool at Memorial Park.

Those renovations would cost the city more than $1 million, money the city simply doesn’t have, he said.

“I doubt the pool will ever reopen,” he said. “Alameda is only two miles away from us and particularly with their planned renovations, it’s going to be a really great facility. But to have two pools that close together and to spend that kind of money the city doesn’t have, it wouldn’t be a wise use of our resources.”

May said a group of citizens composed a commission that looked at putting a spray park in the pool, although that proposal was “cost prohibitive” and would still cost the city more than $800,000.

Eagle Staff Writer Joe Genco contributed to this report.