Politics & Government

ADA-Compliant Lifts to Be Installed at Borough Pool

The lifts will allow disabled persons to access the pool and must be installed for compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Public Works Director Tom Henshaw told Hellertown Borough Council May 7.

Two lifts that will allow disabled people to enter the must be installed within the next month or the pool's opening could be in jeopardy, Director of Public Works Tom Henshaw told Borough Council May 7.

The installation of the non-electric lifts is a new compliance requirement of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Hellertown Pool needs to have two installed because of its significant square footage.

Henshaw said the cost of each lift will be $4,250 plus shipping, and emphasized to council that "we need to do something before we open."

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Installing a handicapped-accessible ramp into the pool would be a costlier option than the lifts, he noted.

Each lift is comprised of a platform system that "comes out off the deck" in order to lower an individual into the water, Henshaw said.

Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The lifts work on "a floating system" involving air, he added.

Borough Manager Cathy Kichline said money from the unallocated portion of the borough's capital account would be used for the purchase, since funds are not included in the budget.

"It's one of those unfunded mandates handed down to us," councilman Tom Rieger said. "(If) we don't do something, we can't open in June."

Council ultimately voted unanimously to approve an expenditure of no more than $12,000 to purchase and install the lifts.

In his report to council, Henshaw also provided an update on .

The child-friendly aquatic play area will feature jets that squirt water out of a poured concrete pad next to the pool.

The Hellertown Community Pool and the splash pad are scheduled to open for the season on Saturday, June 16.


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