WEST PITTSTON — Helena Falzone can still picture the umbrellas around the borough pool.

“I have so many stories here,” Falzone said Monday about the pool. “Christmas in July with all the foam balls in the pool. Buying penny candy and playing Barbie or Go Fish or Rummy.”

Falzone, now 33, stepped over rubble and debris to take photos of the pool after the first day of its demolition.

West Pittston Borough Engineer Thomas Reilly said the decision to remove the pool was made a few years ago for financial reasons.

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“The minimum cost just to get the pool functional without any real upgrades was about half a million dollars,” he said. “The borough pursued funding but it was not nearly adequate for that large of a renovation project.”

Reilly said the pool operated in the red annually due to declining membership.

A former Exeter resident, Falzone cited the pool as a factor in her move to West Pittston. She lives within walking distance now and had hoped to frequent its waters and introduce a new generation of patrons to the pool.

“I moved in here thinking I was going to walk over to this pool in the summer on the weekends,” she said. “I had dreams of taking my children here at some point and I have a niece and two nephews and I wanted to take them to the pool and that’s not happening.”

Falzone said she’d love to see the space become a park – that’s what borough officials want, too.

The demolition of the pool will take approximately two weeks. After that, Reilly said the borough will enter the first phase of its park upgrade, which includes “a series of plantings to create some tree cover and landscaping around the perimeter.” The space will also include a patio in the middle for live performances and events, surrounded by a lawn area for seating.

The borough plans to enter the bidding portion of phase one soon, with planning for phase two to follow.

“That patio would become the base or the foundation for building a future gazebo, a six-sided structure that’d be kind of like an old historic gazebo look with a wide opening in the front,” Reilly said, adding phase two also includes seating and better accommodations for people with disabilities.

Funding for the project comes from two sources: a Department of Parks and Recreation grant and a grant called Greenways Parks and Trails Grant, funded through Commonwealth Financing Authority.

For 33-year-old West Pittston resident Jon YonKondy, who grew up down the street from the pool, the borough is at fault because it failed to secure similar funds to maintain the pool.

“They dropped the ball and they just wanted it to go away,” he said.

YonKondy was at the pool with Falzone, both taking photos of construction for YonKondy’s West Pittston Facebook page. Both displayed a wide range of emotions while visiting the pool: anger at the state it was allowed to fall into, sadness at its destruction and, eventually, understanding.

“You learn to appreciate when you get to be a certain age all the things that make a community a community,” YonKondy said. “It’s very sad to see it go and nobody wants to say goodbye to things they love so much. But, sometimes, it’s just time and you have to make peace with it.”

Demolition began April 24 on the West Pittston Pool.
http://www.psdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Pool1-1.jpg.optimal.jpgDemolition began April 24 on the West Pittston Pool. Gene Axton | Sunday Dispatch

West Pittston resident Jon YonKondy, 33, said he lived close even to West Pittston Pool that the sounds of it opening during the summer were what let him know it was time to go for a swim. YonKondy returned to the pool april 24 to take photos of its demolition for his West Pittston Facebook page.
http://www.psdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Pool2-1.jpg.optimal.jpgWest Pittston resident Jon YonKondy, 33, said he lived close even to West Pittston Pool that the sounds of it opening during the summer were what let him know it was time to go for a swim. YonKondy returned to the pool april 24 to take photos of its demolition for his West Pittston Facebook page. Gene Axton | Sunday Dispatch

Helena Falzone, left, and Jon YonKondy reminisce about the West Pittston Pool as they stand inside the structure after its first day of demolition.
http://www.psdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Pool3-1.jpg.optimal.jpgHelena Falzone, left, and Jon YonKondy reminisce about the West Pittston Pool as they stand inside the structure after its first day of demolition. Gene Axton | Sunday Dispatch

West Pittston Borough Engineer Thomas Reilly said the demolition of the West Pittston Pool will take approximately two weeks. The space will then be redesigned as a park.
http://www.psdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_pool4-1.jpg.optimal.jpgWest Pittston Borough Engineer Thomas Reilly said the demolition of the West Pittston Pool will take approximately two weeks. The space will then be redesigned as a park. Gene Axton | Sunday Dispatch

By Gene Axton

gaxton@timesleader.com

Reach Gene Axton at 570-991-6406 or on Twitter @GeneAxtonTL