Pools prepare for open season, except Washington
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Children line up to get a chance on the water slide at the Canonsburg Town Park pool last June.
Observer-Reporter
Alpha Aquatics Center in Franklin Township is one of three Greene County pools that will open for the season June 5.
With Memorial Day just a few weeks off, area residents are looking forward to spending some leisure time at their favorite community swimming pools.
But Washington swimmers will have to go elsewhere this year, as the pool at Washington Park is in need of repairs and will remain closed this year.
Last year the city had an electrical professional inspect the pool and recently received the report, which stated that lights and ladders needed work, according to Councilman Joe Manning, temporary director of parks and public buildings.
“Last year we had set money aside to do repairs at the pool,” he said. “The majority of the lights in the pool are unsafe and need to be replaced.”
Manning also said three of the pool ladders need to be grounded. A estimate for the work has not been given yet, but the city set aside about $20,000 for the repairs last year.
Between the repairs and potential difficulty finding chlorine and employees to staff the pool, Manning said the city will likely keep the pool closed this season.
“After looking at all of those factors – and considering whether we would have it open long enough for it to be feasible – I think we all agree it’s not going to be open this year,” Manning said. “It’s not unusual for municipal pools to lose money. We want it to be open because it’s a community asset, but these are the circumstances that piled up to make a perfect storm.”
He said council wants to make sure the repairs are made this year to ensure the pool opens in 2022.
Canonsburg’s pool will be opening Memorial Day weekend under the recommended guidelines from the state Department of Health.
“We are basing our opening regulations and guidelines on the governor’s recent statement on mitigation efforts,” said Councilman Rich Russo. “We opened last year, and successfully, with a whole lot of guidance and mitigations in place.”
Russo said capacity was limited to 25%, instead of 75% that will be in effect this Memorial Day weekend. Last year all surfaces and facilities at the pool were disinfected every 15 minutes, which required extra staffing, he said.
“There were lines last year,” he said. “We never turned anybody away, but there were times when people had to wait. We felt proud that we did a very good job last year. We had zero issues with COVID-19 breakouts or a resurgence from the pool.”
In neighboring Greene County, pools will open June 5, according to Bret Moore, the county’s director of recreation.
“We delayed a week just to give us a little extra time because we weren’t sure what the restrictions were going to be,” Moore said. “We’re going to follow whatever CDC guidelines are in place at that time.”
In prior years, the three county pools – Greene County Water Park in Franklin Township, Carmichaels Pool in Wana B Park, and Mon View Pool in Greensboro – were open at different times, but this year, they will operate from noon to 6 p.m., with swimming lessons offered from 6 to 7 p.m. and private parties available from 7 to 9 p.m.
Last year, only the water park and Carmichaels pools were open, and Carmichaels was shut down due to staffing issues, Moore said. Any time an employee traveled for vacation, he or she was required to quarantine for two weeks, making it difficult to keep the pool open, he said.
“We won’t have those guidelines this year, so I think we’ll be OK,” Moore said.
Greene County Commissioner Mike Belding said finding employees could pose a larger problem for the pools than COVID-19 regulations.
“It’s been hard for everybody to find employees,” he said.
Belding said that while the county will abide by the mask mandate and any other CDC recommendations, they plan to be “full steam ahead” for the pools and summer programs.
“We will adjust the capacity in accordance with the presumed relaxed mitigation standards,” Belding said. “Our intent going forward is to be as open as we can and to let people make their own personal decision on how much they’d like to participate. People are ready to get outdoors, and they’ve learned the outdoors provide alternative entertainment. We’re looking forward to the summer.”
In Fayette County, the Flatwoods Community Pool in Franklin Township will open Memorial Day weekend, operating from noon to 8 p.m. on weekends and 4 to 8 p.m. weekdays until schools adjourn classes for the summer. They, too, will be following any mask mandates or CDC recommendations from the state.
Township Supervisor Tim Kelley said that even though the pool didn’t open until July 1 last year, the weather allowed them to have a good season.
“Last year we had a good year, even though we were only open two months,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll have a successful year, but it all depends on the weather.”