During the next year, Canton board members will be forced to decide whether to tear down the longtime outdoor pool or find funding for a new one.

The pool will be patched up yet again this summer, and probably next summer, but town board members are in discussions about what to do with the slowly deteriorating structure.

Built in the late 1940s, the Canton pool has far exceeded the lifespan of a typical outdoor swimming pool. During the past decade, the town has repeatedly patched and painted recurring cracks in order to open each summer.

An engineer from McGill Associates recently presented an evaluation of the costs of repairing or replacing the pool at a town board meeting.

A ground-penetrating radar study last year showed several voids underneath the pool causing leaks. Because of that ...