LISBON — The community swimming pool is unlikely to reopen this year for a second consecutive summer, as village officials continue to search for funds to repair it.

The pool was closed last summer in response to the COVID-19 virus, and village councilman Ryan Berg reported at this week’s council meeting that it will probably remain so this year.

Berg updated council on a recent meeting of the parks committee in which repairs to the pool were discussed. There are major leaks at the pool, and officials spent 2020 trying to come up with an affordable solution.

A pool consulting firm recommended removing the stainless steel gutter/circulating system embedded in the concrete because the concrete had begun to deteriorate. This would cost an estimated $271,000.

Rather than replace the circulating system now, Berg suggested they first undertake what he calls phase one — redoing the shallow end of the pool, which would provide access to the plumbing and allow them to check for leaks. This would cost an estimated $50,000.

“It’s something we were going to do anyway,” he said, after the meeting.

The village has $19,000 in state grant money that can only be spent on pool repairs, and Berg said that would be applied toward the $50,000 project. Council is also considering entering into a conservation easement with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy for Willow Grove Park, and he suggested some of the money from the easement be used to cover the rest.

In other business at the meeting, council authorized Mayor Peter Wilson to spend up to $250 to purchase banger guns and a screamer siren to scare geese away from Willow Grove Park.

Droppings from the many geese that call the park home has become such a problem that it may be deterring people from coming to the park. Wilson said his research shows the best way to address the problem is convincing geese to nest elsewhere, and he suggested they use the above-mentioned devices to achieve that goal before the breeding season begins in February.

The bird banger projectile explodes with a loud report, while the screamer siren does just that — emits a scream. Both are a recommended method for scaring geese into relocating.

Parks supervisor Dana Blackburn said Columbiana and East Palestine have used this method to deal with geese problems at its parks, with great success.

Wilson was also given council permission to seek a federal diesel emissions grant, which would be used to replace older, less efficient diesel village vehicles. He is proposing using the money to replace a water department backhoe and vacuum truck and a 2008 street department truck.

The grant would cover 100 percent of the cost, and the Columbiana County Development Department has agreed to help Wilson write the grant application, which is due March 16.

“The idea is to upgrade our fleet at (federal) government expense, while reducing our diesel emissions,” he said.

Council also passed on third and final reading the village’s budget of $4.2 million for 2021, which fiscal officer Tracey Wonner said was deliberately on the conservative side and can be adjusted as they go forward.

Following are some of the budget appropriations by department: police, $933,047; fire, $135,220; street, $321,644; cemetery, $137,131; water, $691,833; sewer, $597,122; swimming pool, $43,766; general administration offices, which includes mayor and council, $875,862; and capital improvement projects, $75,000.

The village ended 2020 with a general fund carryover balance of nearly $300,000, the highest in years and a more than threefold increase from 2019.

tgiambroni@mojonews.com