Local officials hiring consulting firm to help create plan to reopen Ligonier Beach

LIGONIER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — For the past six years, Ligonier Beach has sat empty just off of Route 30 in Ligonier Township.

“I think that we’re sad to see it closed, and we’re interested in seeing what we can make happen at that property,” said Melissa Eller, President of The Friends of Ligonier Beach.

The Friends of Ligonier Beach is a nonprofit group that has been working to raise money and find a way to get Ligonier Beach back up and running.

“There’s lots of nostalgia for that property,” Eller said. “My parents met there when they were in high school, so if not for Ligonier Beach, I would not be standing here today.”

But it’s not just nostalgia.

“We do see it as an opportunity to be an economic driver for Ligonier,” Eller told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek.

Restoring Ligonier Beach and bringing those potential tourism dollars to the township could be a step closer to reality.

The township set aside $100,000 to pay a consulting firm to study the project and come up with a plan.

Half of that money comes from the state, the other half is coming from fundraising money The Friends of Ligonier Beach has raised.

That study will look at a few things.

“Whether it makes sense to have a pool there, whether it’s the same pool that’s existed since the 20s, or a new smaller pool,” said Ligonier Township Manager Michael Strelic. “The master site development plan will determine what the public wants.”

Meetings to get public input will be held sometime after a contractor is selected.

Next summer would have been Ligonier Beach’s 100th year in service. While it won’t be up and running in time, Eller is hopeful it will be, in some fashion, soon.

“I’m very optimistic we will be able to see people in three or four years,” Eller said.

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