WEIRTON — The Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation is in the process of reviewing the two bids it received on long-planned renovations to the Starvaggi Memorial Pool.

“Wow! That’s all I can say,” said Parks Director Coty Shingle when discussing the bids as part of Thursday’s Park Board meeting.

While he didn’t provide details on the two bids, he noted they were submitted by local companies, with one coming in at $2.3 million and the other at $4 million.

Shingle said such a wide margin between the two bids could be a concern, and a review of the two bids is taking place to make sure they fully meet the request for proposal originally sent out as part of the bidding process.

While two companies submitted bids, Shingle noted six had taken part in the initial pre-bid meeting.

Board member Anthony Capp also expressed concern with the proposed project calendar, with officials noting one bid set up a schedule of 228 calendar days, with the other at 241 days.

In the event the project could begin Oct. 1, as had been planned under the bid, there is the potential for construction to go well beyond its established deadline of May 1, and possibly past Memorial Day 2026.

“In this contract, there are penalties if they don’t finish by May 1,” Shingle said.

The Park Board has been discussing replacement of the pool vessel at Starvaggi Park for several years, with officials noting regular losses of water as a result of the age and condition of the vessel.

The board has been working with PMV/SASI Architect and Engineering to establish a design for the new vessel to include a zero-entry area and a maximum depth of approximately 5 feet, as well as two “peninsulas” built into the pool to provide some division between the areas.

Last fall, the board had estimated a project cost of approximately $1 million.

Officials had planned for a shortened swim season this year, beginning Memorial Day weekend and lasting into mid July. However, because of delays in the bid process, the pool, which originally opened in 1968, was kept open into early August.