With original pools now filled, Richland Community Swimming Pool Association has taken major step towards reinvention

Do you remember going to the Richland Community Swimming Pool growing up?

Although it hasn’t been open for a few years now, a recently revived Richland Community Swimming Pool Association board is working to ensure that children in the area soon have their own memories of fun times at the site.

The group achieved a major milestone recently with the filling-in of the original pools, a step taken after it was determined that they were not salvageable and would have taken more money to restore than replace new elsewhere on the site.

Local firm Double D Construction donated gas, time, and equipment to help break the bottom of the pools before filling them in, to ensure that they wouldn’t retain water.

The original pool building was initially thought to be not salvageable, too, but after a closer inspection this turned out to not be the case and long-term thinking is the building could serve as a social hall of sorts.

In addition to the pool building, RCSPA also saved the lifeguard chairs and diving board so they could be incorporated into whatever comes next.

“We are trying to keep as much history of Richland to this as possible,” said RCSPA president Andrew Kriss.

Kriss explained that the board of nine initially organized “to give back to the community and to give back to the kids, and to have a spot where people can go have fun and enjoy themselves.

He also said interest in the project has been significant locally, with many residents taking time to complete surveys and participate in fundraising efforts (such as sub sales through R&K).

Now, the RCSPA wants to know what you’d like to see happen at the site. The group hopes to draw inspiration from projects like The Treehouse of Lititz and The Caring Acre in Palmyra, and at this point everything is on the table.

While a pool is definitely possible, the fact is running a pool remains a difficult enterprise (as evidenced by numerous Lebanon County pool closures in recent years).

With four acres at the 600 E. Linden Ave site, we could end up seeing a few different things there. Ideas besides a pool so far include a dog park, batting cage, community garden, playground, pavilion, basketball courts, etc.

RCSPA is taking name suggestions through February 6 for the newly-cleared spacem and you can always get more information by following the Richland Community Swimming Pool Association on Facebook.