By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As is the custom when temperatures soar across the nation, people head to their local swimming pools to seek relief. But many of those pools are padlocked this summer due to lack of staff.
Every day, Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Director Kristin Otley gets emails about community pools cutting their hours short, or not opening at all.
That isn’t the case in Bowling Green, where the pool in City Park is once again fully staffed with nearly 70 employees.
“We have staff – and that is really saying something,” Otley said Tuesday evening during the monthly meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board. “We’re really, really lucky.”
But Otley quickly corrected herself. It’s not luck that the city pool has adequate staff every year.
She credits Josh Chatfield, aquatics and fitness manager, for his leadership and training at the pool. For many of the lifeguards and swim instructors, working at the pool is their first job. And many of those young employees continue to come back every summer well into their college years.
So far this summer, there have already been multiple days of 90-plus degree heat.
“We’ve reached capacity a few times,” Parks and Recreation Program Coordinator Ivan Kovacevic said about the pool.
“They are out there working with people with a 110 degree index,” Otley said.
While other cities have had to cut hours or pay exorbitant wages for lifeguards, Bowling Green pool is able to retain staff for many years in a row, offering training and leadership opportunities.
“He gets them in the pipeline,” Kovacevic said about Chatfield.
Otley and Kovacevic talked about the parks being busy this summer.
“Yes, this is what we’re here for,” Otley said. The mornings start with Safety Town and swimming lessons. The days continue with arts and crafts or nature camps for kids. And the evenings are full of ball games and walks in the parks.
Otley reported that a rendering of the new inclusive playground has been posted in Carter Park. The goal is for the playground to be open this year. “They will do anything and everything to make that happen,” she said of Wood County Plays, which is spearheading the effort to build the playground for people of all abilities.
Otley also reported that an architectural team has been hired for the proposed outdoor pickleball courts at Carter Park. The architect and local pickleball players are working on a concept plan and cost projections for the courts.
Otley also met with a group of citizens wanting a more centrally located dog park in the city. The group is working on a feasibility study for the park, with Otley acting as the city liaison.
In other business at Tuesday’s meeting:
- New members Katelyn Elliott and Ardy Gonyer were welcomed to the parks and recreation board.
- Linda Cubberley was recognized by Mayor Mike Aspacher for her 10 years of service on the board.
- Cale Hover was elected as board president, Phil Simmons as vice president, and Emily Keegan as secretary.
- Otley reported to the board that she was recently elected president of the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association.
- Kovacevic reminded that the Lunch in the Park events continue on Fridays, and Music in the Parks continues on Sundays, both at City Park.
