The Plain City Aquatic Center will open this summer, following a split vote by village council.
During Monday’s council meeting, which was held virtually via Zoom, members voted 4-2 to open the pool for the 2020 season.
Village Administrator Nathan Cahall previously presented council with a plan to open the aquatic center based on safety guidelines from Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health.
The proposed restrictions included physical barriers separating families within the pool, registering in advance for a two-hour time slot and closing concessions, showers, the diving board and tube slide.
Based on the requirements to open, Cahall said staff recommended not opening the pool. Before making a decision, council asked staff to send a survey to residents to gauge their opinions.
On Monday, Cahall shared results from more than 600 replies to the survey.
Cahall said “a slight majority” were in favor of opening the pool, but the percentage of those who would “actually come to the pool is a little more nebulous.”
According to the survey results, 51% of respondents said the village should open the pool under the current operational restrictions.”
However, if the proposed restrictions were in place, 57.5% said they did not plan to visit the aquatic center this year. Similarly, half indicated they were “not at all likely” to visit the pool this summer.
Cahall said Plain City employees have been in contact with the Union County Health Department and Marysville officials, who recently opened the city’s municipal pool, to explore the practical steps needed to open the aquatic center.
“There’s been quite a spectrum of enforcement, non-enforcement” and interpretation of state guidelines across different facilities, Cahall said.
Since Marysville’s pool is much larger than Plain City’s, Village Parks and Recreation Director Linda Granger said guidelines would be enforced differently at each one.
However, since the opening of Marysville’s pool, Granger said village staff has realized that many guidelines they thought were requirements from the state were actually suggestions.
This includes placing physical barriers in the pool, Granger said, which could actually create safety hazards for lifeguards.
Without barriers, similar to Marysville’s pool, Granger said Plain City could increase its pool capacity from the proposed nine household units at a time.
Granger said the village would also likely abandon the idea of two-hour time slots and instead allow reservations for half the day.
Additionally, Village Solicitor Paul Lafayette said Plain City could legally limit entry to village residents, as Marysville has done for its pool.
Even with these changes, Cahall said Marysville has faced “significant issues with adherence to public health issues,” especially with parents not chaperoning their children.
Marysville has had some “folks not taking too kindly to some 16-year-old kid” trying to enforce public health regulations, he said.
Marysville Recreation and Event Manager Amanda Morris addressed Cahall’s comments and said pool staff is comfortable and hasn’t had any issues with parents and children.
Morris agreed that there was initially difficulty enforcing social distancing among the 13- to 18-year-old attendees, but said she feels it is because they hadn’t seen each other in so long. She said that group has been more compliant in the past week.
“We’ve had nothing but positive feedback,” Morris said, adding that attendees are having a “good, safe, quality time.”
Morris said the health department is at the pool frequently to offer help and ensure staff and attendees are “taking everything seriously.”
“I almost feel like my kids are somewhat safer being at the pool than other places for the time being,” she said.
After observing Marysville’s operations, Granger said she didn’t have concerns about the logistics of opening the pool but there will be obstacles surrounding staffing.
Over the past two weeks, Cahall said there was a “staffing erosion” among lifeguards and pool employees who chose to pursue positions elsewhere.
In order to hire and certify lifeguards, Granger said, “I would hesitate to say (the pool could open) in sooner than two to three weeks.”
Since the pool would essentially lose the month of June, or a third of its season, Cahall said aquatic center operations will likely result in a $75,000 loss.
The pool typically operates within $1,000 of breaking even, whether that is positive or negative, Granger added.
“There’s a big difference between a minimal loss and a substantial loss,” Council member Darren Lee said.
Regardless of the financial loss, Council President Jody Carney said opening the pool would benefit mental health among youth and “help our children maintain hope” during the pandemic.
She motioned to open the pool and initially restrict entry to village residents, then expand to non-residents if the capacity is not met regularly.
The motion passed, with Lee and Sherry Heineman dissenting.
There is not yet a set opening date for the aquatic center, but Cahall noted staff is currently sanitizing the splash pad, which “should be ready in a few days.”