Lackawanna County sues agency over leaking pool at McDade Park – Scranton Times-Tribune

SCRANTON — Lackawanna County will hold its “leak-plagued” swimming pool at McDade Park closed this summer season and has sued the contractor that repaired it two years in the past, the county introduced Monday.

A county lawsuit filed Thursday in Lackawanna County Court in opposition to D&M Construction Unlimited of Dalton claims the agency’s faulty work on the pool breached the contract and seeks unspecified financial damages.

D&M has not but responded to the lawsuit in courtroom. An lawyer representing D&M, Robert O’Brien of the Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman regulation agency of Philadelphia, issued a press release to The Times-Tribune on Monday saying: “Last week, in accordance with our contract, we filed an action against Lackawanna County in the American Arbitration Association seeking our unpaid retainage and other monies due and owing. We fully stand by our work and do not comment on active litigation.”

Attorney Matthew Haar of the Saul Ewing regulation agency of Harrisburg represents the county within the lawsuit. It cites newly found leaks on the pool that — after a yearslong hiatus — reopened in 2023 following substantial renovations that 12 months by D&M.

The county then reopened the pool in late June 2024 after a delay that season prompted by a previous leak restore.

But the pool couldn’t be reopened this 12 months due to leaks. Workers filling the pool discovered it leaked at a fee of a number of inches per hour and an engineering guide beneficial restore of all the tile joints on the pool ground.

Other county allegations within the lawsuit embody:

• The lawsuit cites one depend of breach of contract by D&M by means of “defective” work on the pool.

• A $2,637,000 contract awarded by the county to D&M on Feb. 15, 2023, referred to as for building of a brand new bathhouse and renovations to the pool to be accomplished by July 4, 2023. Both sides later agreed to increase the completion deadline to Aug. 11, 2023.

• When D&M accomplished the undertaking and turned the pool over to the county for swimming use, it nonetheless leaked on the fee of the water degree dropping by 12 inches a day.

• D&M undertook repairs in April 2024 that delayed the pool opening that 12 months. After the 2024 season, an evaluation decided leaking had not been resolved.

• This 12 months, persevering with leaks precluded use of the pool, and faulty work additionally triggered ponding and drainage points on the entrance of the brand new bathhouse.

The lawsuit contends the contract permits the county to restore faulty work on the expense of the contractor. The county at present is within the means of requesting new proposals from corporations to restore the pool, however the fee received’t be identified till the scope of the work is outlined and the county receives aggressive bids.

“This year, rather than attempt to fix the new leaks on a piecemeal basis, the county will seek bids from other contractors for comprehensive repairs,” county officers had mentioned in a mid-June press launch.

At that point, county officers additionally mentioned the county would file a declare in opposition to a $300,000 upkeep bond posted in 2023 by D&M, and the county additionally received’t make the ultimate $75,000 fee for the undertaking.

Along with the lawsuit, the county additionally filed on Thursday a companion writ of summons in opposition to the issuer of the development bond for the undertaking, Old Republic Surety Co., of Brookfield, Wisconsin.

With the pool closed, lifeguards had been reassigned from McDade Park to the three lakes at Covington, Aylesworth and Merli-Sarnoski parks, the place swimming is permitted.

Meanwhile, the splash pad at McDade Park reopened this season.

Originally Published: July 28, 2025 at 12:57 PM EDT