Mill Hall volunteers ask Keystone Central School District to help keep county pool open

Mill Hall residents and volunteers asked the Keystone Central School District (Keystone Central SD) board on Thursday to consider financial or fundraising help for rebuilding the borough’s outdoor community pool, which volunteers and borough officials say serves residents across Clinton County.

The request came from Lenny Long, Bob Dwyer and Tom Bossert, who described a multi-year effort that produced a $952,000 Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) grant, schematic designs and local fundraising. “We ended up getting a $952,000 grant from DCNR,” Long said. “We’re in the deep end now.”

The volunteers said the project’s construction bids put the estimated total at about $2.1 million and that the borough has taken a loan to cover costs. The group told the board it has raised about $600,000 to date and is pursuing additional state tax-credit donations through the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) if a fiscal conduit arrangement with the Clinton County Community Foundation can be finalized.

Why it matters: Mill Hall Pool is the only outdoor public pool in that part of the county, volunteers said, and the borough currently carries annual staffing, maintenance and repair costs the group estimated at roughly $80,000–$100,000 a year. Volunteers and school officials told the board that the pool is used by Keystone Central swim teams, summer lessons and community programs, and that the district’s involvement — either through a direct contribution or student-led fundraising — could be decisive for the project to meet grant-matching requirements.

Volunteers outlined a tight timetable: a pre-bid meeting March 20, bids due April 7 and a DCNR grant requirement that the work be completed by 2026. They also described in-kind donations planned from nearby townships to remove old concrete and site material. “If we can raise the money, they’re gonna start putting shovels in the ground,” Long said. “If we don’t build this pool right now, no one else is gonna build a community pool in Clinton County.”

Board members responded with questions about legal limits on district donations, possible student-led fundraisers and timing. Board member Chris asked the district solicitor about whether the school district can donate public funds to an outside pool project; board members said they would seek counsel before any direct contribution. Several board members suggested alternatives such as student fundraisers, booster support or a Keystone Central Foundation conduit rather than a direct appropriation.

The volunteers also read three Mill Hall Borough council motions showing ongoing cooperation between the borough and Central Mountain schools — waiving pavilion fees for elementary and middle school picnics and allowing school baseball use of borough fields — and told the board that relationship underpins their appeal. The motions were read into the record as previously adopted by Mill Hall Borough council and were described as carried unanimously by council minutes.

Next steps and timeline: board members asked the volunteers to provide additional documentation and asked staff to check legal parameters for district support. The volunteers asked for an early nod of interest and requested a response by 10 a.m. the next day so they could report back to borough council; board members agreed to place the item on the next regular meeting agenda for broader discussion.

Ending: Volunteers left materials and renderings with the board and said they would pursue the Clinton County Community Foundation conduit and corporate NAP donors. The district’s legal counsel and administrators will report back to the board to clarify whether the district can provide direct funding and, if not, what steps are permissible to support the pool through student or foundation-led fundraising.