Community Pool Project Nears $1,000,000 Goal

The Greater Owego Community Pool Project Committee announced that nearly $940,000 in gifts and pledges have been accounted for of the $1 million contribution needed to meet the conditions of the construction referendum approved last January by residents of the Owego-Apalachin Central School District. According to the referendum, the local share of construction of the ten-classroom and pool addition to the Owego Free Academy needed to be accounted for before school officials could begin the construction process. New York State will provide the additional $3.2 million in construction aid needed to cover the $4.2 million projected cost of the project.

Fred Beaudry, chairperson of the fund raising committee, says that the public response has been greater than expected. "Once we announced the need, there has not been a week in the past six months in which contributions did not come in. At this time we are encouraging all residents and businesses who wish to join this once in a lifetime effort to help put the fund drive over the top."

Most recently, a consortium of local banking institutions agreed to participate in a portion of the pool fund to enable work on the needed addition to begin while the contributions were still being accepted. The banks, including BSB, Chemung Canal Trust, Community Bank, NBT, Marine Midland, and Tioga State Bank will guarantee funding so that the project can move forward once the additional $62,000 of local contributions is achieved. The fund raisers agree that this bank action is important because it allows construction to be speeded up, which will take advantage of the available state aid and a competitive construction market.

The Greater Owego Community Pool Project is a joint undertaking made up of volunteer fund raisers, Tioga Opportunities, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that manages community service projects, and the Owego Apalachin Central School District which will construct the pool at the Owego Free Academy. The plan of the project is to combine construction of the pool with ten additional classrooms needed at the high school in order to meet projected growth in student enrollment. School officials estimate that the earliest date the pool can be available for public use is September 1999.

Commenting on this endeavor, Kathleen Horner, Executive Director of Tioga Opportunities Inc., said, "This is an excellent example of community-government cooperation and volunteerism at work for the benefit of all of our citizens without additional taxpayer burden."

Contributions may be made to the Greater Owego Community Pool Project, c/o Tioga Opportunities, Inc., 9 Sheldon Guile Boulevard, Owego, NY 13827.