Ice Arena Expansion Delayed, Pool Gets Reprieve

Earlier this year Brighton Pool had been considered for closure to make way for an expanded Brighton Ice Arena. But after the $8 million expansion plan hit several roadblocks, the Town of Tonawanda Recreation Department announced that Brighton Pool will be open again this summer.

Brighton is one of three outdoor municipal pools in the town, which also includes Lincoln and Mang pools.

All three will open on June 21. Pool passes will be available at noon on June 18 for town residents and on June 21 for both residents and non-residents.

Councilman Daniel J. Crangle said there are no plans to make nearly $640,000 in repairs at Brighton Pool.

The Brighton Pool is operating at a $53,000 annual deficit and needs an interior liner. Jeffrey Rainey, supervisor of Youth, Parks and Recreation, told the town in April that without a liner the pool is losing 8 to 10 inches of water daily. Liners were added to Mang Pool in 2003 and Lincoln Pool in 2012.

The board rejected a plan for a $400,000 design and engineering plan for the Brighton Ice Arena in March, saying it needed more definite numbers on the cost for expansion of the arena.

In April, the expansion plan hit another obstacle when the board learned that a $79,000 federal land and water grant used to refurbish the pool in the mid-1980s was granted in perpetuity.

Supervisor Joseph H. Emminger has suggested that Brighton Pool could become a splash pad in the future.

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