Dormont Pool Diving Board Plan Sinks For Now

voted 4-3 against accepting the Friends of Dormont Pool's offer to purchase and install a diving board at Monday night's council meeting.

Councilman John Maggio accused the four council members who voted against accepting the diving board - Kim Lusardi, Laurie Malka, Joan Hodson and Heather Schmidt - of micromanaging.

Schmidt said Maggio was grandstanding for the upcoming election.

She, Lusardi, Hodson and Malka said they wanted to be thorough and make sure safety concerns were fully addressed.

Schmidt said she was excited at first hearing about the , but then began to hear from concerned residents.

Maggio knew she and the others had safety concerns, but brought it up for a vote knowing they'd vote against the plan without those concerns addressed, Schmidt said.

"(Monday) night was a political play as the election will be coming up and he wants to look good to residents that love the pool as that is how he got elected the last time," she said in an e-mail Tuesday explaining her vote.

Schmidt, Malka and Lusardi said they'd like to see a diving board back at the pool.

"It is the beginning of February, we have plenty of time to research this properly and then get the proper board installed," Schmidt said. "If we do not go through our due diligence to ensure the safety of our residents and a tragedy happens, I wouldn’t want it on my hands."

Maggio said council had a variance from the Allegheny County Health Department permitting the diving board and indication from the borough's insurer that the borough would be covered.

Lusardi, Malka and Schmidt said that wasn't enough. Hodson said she doesn't know what criteria the health department based its decision on, despite having asked.

"I just want to know what I'm voting for," she said, adding that installing a diving board is more complicated than it would appear at first glance.

Based on recommendations from the American National Standards Institute, they want calculations made to confirm that whatever diving board is chosen is appropriate for the pool's depth and that its placement takes into account the location of equipment such as pumps and filters.

Maggio said he intends to have the diving board brought up for another vote at the March council meeting. He said the company that installed the diving board at the Keystone Oaks High School gym was looking into the concerns raised.

It's also a conflict of interest for Maggio to vote on pool issues because he's the president of the Friends of Dormont Pool, Schmidt said.

Maggio said he checked that before he was elected and it's not a conflict.

At one time, the pool had three diving boards, but they eventually broke. It's not clear how long it's been since the pool last had a diving board. The pool was built in the late 1920s.