AMHERST — With the $4 million plan to construct a new bathhouse at War Memorial Pool considered cost prohibitive, town officials are working with architects to come up with a less-expensive, long-term plan to either rehabilitate or replace the 1950s-era building.

Department of Public Works Assistant Superintendent Amy Rusiecki told the Recreation Commission at a recent meeting that a reasonable solution is being sought that is within a budget based on the $1.25 million in Community Preservation Act money already appropriated and which could be supplemented with state money, possibly a Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities grant.

Working with Kuth Ranieri Architects of Franklin, Rusiecki said an assessment is being done to see if there’s a way to fix up the existing concrete-block building, on the Triangle Street side of the pool and situated on a 2-acre site between Triangle and Mattoon streets.

Such a renovation would be the first option, while a second option is a modular building that could be placed on a concrete pad, but which would need plumbing and electricity. The third option is the new building, but stripped down from previous plans to meet the budget.

Under the initial plan, there were also concepts of activating the full space around the pool, removing the deteriorated basketball court and possibly installing a new spray park, though enhancing the playground was not considered due to the proximity of a new playground at Kendrick Park.

Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek said the pause, called by Town Manager Paul Bockelman after input from the Town Council, gives time to look for options that are more reasonable. That also meant not submitting an application for a state grant.

“Unfortunately, when those numbers came in they were approaching $4 million,” Ziomek said.

War Memorial is the older of the town’s two full-size swimming pools, built about 20 years before the pool at Mill River Recreation Area on Montague Road. War Memorial Pool was renovated in 2012. Though more lightly used than Mill River, War Memorial remains the primary pool for summer camps, due to its proximity to the high school and middle school.

Ziomek said the town is taking an aggressive approach to getting War Memorial opened for this summer season, finding ways to put a “Band-Aid” on a 1950s building that he said needs a really big facelift, or to be demolished.

Working with the Recreation Department, DPW and the town’s facilities department, the pool is having a new liner installed and new drains placed to meet current codes, with facilities department identifying capital funding to address the bathhouse’s leaky roof, repainting parts of it and replacing all the above-ground plumbing inside the building, including toilets, sinks and showers.

Rusiecki said the bathhouse annually struggles to pass inspection so it can safely be opened, with rusted pipes, the bathroom and shower floors in bad shape and concrete brick walls beginning to crack. The work this year provides a temporary respite, and putting some investment into the building buys time to come up with the right plan that the town can afford.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.