The concrete box buried under the Dormont Pool parking lot was definitely not used for burning Christmas trees, borough manager Jeff Naftal said Monday. 

The bomb shelter scenario also is unlikely.

But Dormont officials are getting closer to discovering what the now-collapsed box might actually have been used for.

During Monday’s Dormont Council meeting, Naftal said he was hopeful crews would find pipes leading to or from the container, and on Tuesday, that hope was fulfilled.

At least one pipe was found in the wall of the box, but Council President Bill McCartney, who was at the scene on Tuesday, said it’s still not clear where the pipe leads.

The pipe could indicate that the box might have been some sort of overflow container, and Dormont Public Works Supervisor John Schneider agreed. But both said that is still speculation at this point.

“It was probably some sort of water vault, but we don’t know where that pipe goes,” Schneider said. “That’s what we think, but we don’t know yet.”

The roof of the container gave way last week, collapsing and exposing a gaping hole in the Dormont Pool parking lot. Officials have found no indication of the container's existence in the borough's records.

Although it is commonly being called a "sinkhole," that term actually is a misnomer. The hole is not a geological sinkhole, and it will not continue sinking or expanding.

Naftal said Monday that if pipes were found, crews might be able to use camera equipment to determine where they lead, which would provide more information about the container’s purpose.

He said unless it proves to be a necessary structure, which is unlikely, the box will be collapsed, the space filled in and the parking lot repaved.

Niando Construction is completing the work at a cost of $3,200 a day, plus material costs, which Naftal said is reasonable, considering the amount of work needed.

The work is expected to take two days to complete, and council on Monday authorized up to $10,000 for repair costs.

Parking is allowed in the pool lot, but not near the construction site.

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