By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Don’t get out the goggles and swimwear just yet – but it looks like the Bowling Green pool will be open this summer.
“We are cautiously optimistic that we will be open,” Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Director Kristin Otley said Tuesday evening.
Last year, the difficult decision was made to keep the pool in City Park padlocked for the summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But during the parks and recreation board meeting Tuesday evening, Otley reported that the forecast for this summer looks brighter.
There will likely still be limitations, and “there may be some people who just aren’t comfortable” taking a dip in the city pool, she said.
Last summer, the state guidelines were very stringent. Community pools were permitted to open to the public – but the guidelines were so restrictive that most remained closed.
“We were allowed to open last year,” Otley said. But it was almost impossible to meet the guidelines set by the state. “I think the state didn’t want to be the bad guy.”
Last summer was relatively early on in the pandemic, when some issues just weren’t known yet about the coronavirus. For example, the early guidance required community pools to clean high-touch surfaces every half hour – and in a pool, every surface is potentially high-touch, Otley said.
“Now we know that’s not that big of a deal,” she said.
New guidelines from the state are expected in mid-March.
“We are fully anticipating we will be open,” Otley said. “Hopefully there will be less restrictions.”
But she cautioned that the pool revenue may be down a bit from previous years.
“The question is – is anybody going to come?”
However, knowing how desperate families are for activities for their children – the chances are good that many will be taking dips at the city pool, Otley said.
“Any parent that has a kid that hasn’t been able to do anything, they are going to be there,” she said. “I think we’re going to have really good numbers.”
Otley is also optimistic about other annual traditions in Bowling Green – such as the summer lunches in City Park.
“I think we can make that happen” – with safety limitations in place, she said. “People are chomping at the bit for that” kind of community event.
