The Plain City pool and campground will not open to the public until at least the end of May, while many other summer events have been canceled.
Parks and Recreation Director Linda Granger said, “we have no choice” but to remain closed until then, in light of orders from Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health.
She said all recreational activities including sports leagues, swimming pools and camping will remain closed through May 29.
Generally, Granger said the pool would open the Saturday before Memorial Day, May 23, but things are now “in a holding pattern.”
The village is continuing to wait for further guidance from the state level and will not close for the season preemptively, Granger said.
“We certainly hope to open… but everything depends on the governor,” she said.
In the meantime, Granger said the village is doing what it can to prepare the pool for operations. Village staff is not filling the pool or adding chemicals yet, but has interviewed and begun hiring seasonal pool employees.
“I’ve told them, ‘If we open, you will have a job,’” Granger said.
She said the village is also keeping a list of closures and potential opening dates for nearby pools.
Plain City will not plan its pool schedule based on other municipalities because the number of patrons and lifeguards vary so heavily, Granger explained. However, if pools begin to open, she said she will touch base with others and discuss strategies for operating safely.
“We can’t really do pre-planning when we have no idea what the parameters are,” she added.
Granger said she knows the community wants the pool to open this summer and the village “wants to provide amenities and services if we’re able.”
Currently, the campground remains open only to first responders and essential workers who are self-isolating in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
Along with the pool, junior sports leagues, such as the Plain City Area Ball Association and the Plain City Sharks Swim Team cannot start any activities until after May 29.
Granger said the ball association is a recreational league with about 600 participants. It is operated separately from the village, but uses Plain City property for practices and games and will have to abide by reopening dates set by the state and enforced by the village.
Uncertainty surrounding the pandemic has also forced the cancelation of many summer events in the village.
Music in the Park on Memorial Day and Bluegrass and BBQ have also been canceled, Granger said.
Bernie Vance, of Plain City American Legion Post 248, said the Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony is canceled as well.
He said the organization feels there is a strong possibility orders restricting gatherings of more than 10 people will last through the month of May. Additionally, Vance said most of the veterans who participate in the parade are “extremely vulnerable” due to age or underlying medical conditions.
“This has been a hard decision to make, but we feel that it is the right thing to do,” he wrote in a news release.
Likewise, Granger said it will be “a challenging summer” as governments and organizations determine how to reopen and safely organize events.
“We’re all in a little bit of a scramble,” she said.