Millheim Borough Council buys closed pool for $1. Here’s why that could save it

The Millheim Pool, Penns Valley’s only public swimming pool, has been closed this summer due to a lengthy list of repairs. But the Millheim Borough Council has now officially taken the first step toward saving it.

Located in Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Park at 120 Park Entrance Road, the pool first opened in 1970. Up until Tuesday evening, it was owned by the Millheim Lion’s Club and operated by a small group of volunteers from the Penns Valley Parks and Recreation Association (PVPRA).

That changed Tuesday night when Millheim Borough Council voted unanimously to take on ownership of the pool, which the club gifted to the borough for a measly $1. The belief is that the borough is in better shape, financially, to take on the pool’s repairs.

“I’m hoping that this is going to be the start of a process that will see the pool be completely rehabilitated over the next few years,” Councilman Nickelaus Engle told the CDT Tuesday. “Obviously there’s a long way to go with it, but we have to start somewhere.”

The club’s offer to the borough was made in June after the pool’s closure was announced. According to a memo shared with the borough by the club, “it is in the community’s best interest for Millheim Borough to own the property.”

The agreement comes with a list of five stipulations, set by the club:

• The property must always be used for “recreation and public good.”
• Any active club members can rent a pavilion space at the pool for free as long as the club is active.
• The borough covers any costs associated with the transfer of the property deed.
• The PVPRA acts as a temporary manager of the pool while a transition to a more sustainable option is begun.
• All assets relating to the pool and Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Park be transferred to the borough and appropriately designated as part of the property itself within two years of the property transfer.

Although the borough now owns the pool, there is still much work to be done before it can reopen, and that work will start with the formation of a new Penns Valley Parks and Recreation Joint Authority. That authority will operate as a separate entity from the Penns Valley Parks and Recreation Association.

According to council members Katie Blume and Robert Zeigler, the authority would consist of all municipalities in the Penns Valley, including Gregg, Haines, Miles, Penn and Potter townships, and Centre Hall and Millheim boroughs.

While the authority has yet to be officially created, Zeigler confirmed verbal commitments to join from Haines and Miles townships, with Penn and Potter townships and Centre Hall Borough expressing interest in joining once more information is made available.

Letters inviting each of the seven municipalities to officially form and join the authority will be sent out shortly. And as long as it remains a “joint” authority, even if a municipality declines the invitation, it can still join at a later date.

When the authority is eventually created, it could be used to tackle a wider range of recreation issues at parks across the Penns Valley, but the first priority would be tackling the pool’s many issues.

“There’s more potential with this joint authority than just the pool — not that the pool isn’t a big to-do, and that it should maybe be the main goal for the first five, 10 years of the authority,” Engle said at a town hall in July. “But I just think there’s a lot of other potential, even if it is just connecting people that want to do similar things.”

Some of the pool’s current needs include replacing its internal plumbing; installing a new low-maintenance liner; updating the mechanical room, bathhouse and concession stand; pouring new concrete around the pool when the internal issues are fixed; and making some smaller upgrades along the way.

The total cost of all repairs is not yet known, although the borough anticipates a new pool liner costing at least $100,000.

While the list of repairs is long, PVPRA President Michelle Johnson said in July that samples taken at the pool earlier this summer indicate that its 50-year-old core is in “really good” condition, saving the borough from having to excavate into the pool further.

Once the recreation authority is formed, funding for the many repairs is expected to come from a combination of different sources, including grants, local donations, authority-held fundraising events and municipal in-kind work and financial contributions.

Moving forward, no large upgrades to the pool will be done this summer, but Johnson said that some smaller patchwork to the pool’s lining where core samples were taken will be completed, so that it can at least hold water. The pool will also be opening for a one-day event from 1-5 p.m. on Sept. 7, with more information on the event being posted on the pool’s Facebook page.

While a hard timeline for repairs remains to be seen, updates on the renovation process and authority’s formation will be shared at future Millheim Borough Council meetings, which take place at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month.

This story was originally published August 13, 2025 at 12:50 PM.