Jul 14, 2020 2 min read

Three weeks after they opened, the day camp and public swimming pool in Carmichaels have closed for the season due to low attendance and a lack of lifeguards, Greene County’s commissioners and the county’s parks and recreation department announced Monday.

The free camps have, on some days, drawn no children at all, and attendance has been tepid on other days. Along with low attendance, Greene County has been struggling to find lifeguards to staff the pools, according to Bret Moore, Greene County’s recreation director. Because the pools opened June 22, almost a month after the traditional Memorial Day opening, some young people who would have signed on as lifeguards had already found other jobs. Others had traveled to locales that have become coronavirus hot spots and had to quarantine themselves for two weeks.

“The governor said (the pools) wouldn’t open, then said we would open, so a lot of students had gotten jobs at that point,” Moore said. He pointed out that in order for the pools to have a full complement of lifeguards, the Waynesburg pool would need eight regular guards and two head guards, and the Carmichaels pool would need seven regular lifeguards and two head guards.

For now, there are no plans to shut down the Waynesburg pool. Attendance at the pool has been below normal, “but it’s been higher than at the Carmichaels pool,” Moore said.

Families that purchased pool passes for use with the day camp can receive refunds. Refunds are also available for swimming lessons. All Carmichaels pool passes will be honored at the Waynesburg pool.

For additional information call 724-852-5210.