Cheltenham will consider canceling its pool agreement on Tuesday
The township says delays from a lawsuit alleging Cheltenham evaded bidding rules to build the pools may have doomed the project.
Cheltenham’s commissioners will consider terminating a controversial public pool contract at a special meeting Tuesday, the township announced Friday morning.
The commissioner board had approved the $4.5 million contract earlier this year as a ground lease to Melrose Pool LLC, a new business entity affiliated with a developer who’s building houses, shops, and a medical center at the former Melrose Country Club.
The ground lease was signed in July by the cofounder of BG Capital, which is developing the country club property, on behalf of Melrose Pool LLC. But no LLC under that name appears to have been registered with Pennsylvania until September, according to state records.
Resident Sam Thacker sued in July, arguing the ground lease is really a construction contract that should’ve been subject to bidding rules.
The special meeting announcement came as the township faces a Commonwealth Court appeal process that Thacker’s lawyer, Christopher McCabe, has estimated could take a year.
“The Special Meeting of the Board was called due to concerns that the delays already being caused by the litigation could ultimately prevent successful completion of the pool project under the agreed upon terms,” Cheltenham’s spokesperson Lauren Walter wrote in an email Friday.
It was not immediately clear whether the township would be on the hook for any money the developer has already spent toward constructing the Melrose pools.
The Melrose project would put three public pools next to the new development to replace Conklin Pool, which would close. The township says it would cost more than $4.5 million to sustainably replace Conklin.
“I’m encouraged that they are listening to their constituents in bringing the issue before the public,” Thacker texted Friday. “Terminating the lease and moving forward with a transparent bidding process would bring a welcome end to the costly legal proceedings.”
The meeting is scheduled for Oct. 6 at 5:30 p.m., online and at the township administration building.
Inquirer Greater Abington
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