By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Until COVID regulations change, Bowling Green City Pool will be forced to limit its capacity to half of the facility’s maximum of 750 people. So when the pool opens up on Memorial Day weekend, no more than 375 will be permitted inside.
The city’s parks and recreation staff had been anxiously awaiting updated regulations from the state for this summer’s pool opening. But last week, park programs throughout the state were notified that no updates will be coming – until regulations are no longer needed, said BG Parks and Recreation Director Kristin Otley.
Gov. Mike DeWine has deemed that once Ohio reaches no more than 50 COVID cases per 100,000 population for two weeks, then “we will be wide open,” Otley told the parks and rec board Tuesday evening. That is expected to occur in July.
Until then, there will be fewer chairs on the pool deck, one entrance and one exit, and a limit of 375 people at a time.
“We will need to limit capacity,” Otley said. “We are very, very hopeful this will be a limited time frame when we’re at half capacity.”
Some areas will require masks, but “we do not want them swimming in masks,” she said. “It actually says that in CDC guidelines.”
While starting out at 50% capacity, Otley said there will be some leeway to raise the number of people allowed in the pool within a few weeks after opening. She explained that the parks and rec department wanted to start conservatively.
Otley said staff are researching ways to allow families to log onto a pool website to see how many people are currently in attendance.
Faced with a decision on how to best limit attendance during the first part of the summer, the parks and recreation staff met to discuss options. The first option was only allowing city residents in the pool, since they are the ones paying taxes for the facility.
However, it is difficult for children to prove residency, and tough to do contact tracing with those coming in on day passes. That also poses a problem for children who have been desperate to socialize with friends – whether they live in the city or elsewhere.
“These kids have been limited in who they can hang out with for a super long time,” Otley said.
So the second option was limiting attendance to people with season passes. That would take care of the contact tracing issue.
But it would create a different problem, since many families may not be able to afford season passes – especially with the financial hardships caused by COVID.
“It’s been a really rough year. If a kid wants to come and use the pool, we want them to use the pool,” Otley said.
The parks and recreation board already helps families who have prove of need and are unable to afford pool passes, she said. But this year, additional help may be needed.
The price of pool passes have not changed since 2019. A family pass for city residents is $150, compared to $191 for non-residents. A student pass for a city resident is $88, compared to $98 for a non-resident.
The BG Parks and Rec Foundation has already discussed supplementing pool pass costs even more, and Otley suggested that community members may like to help out as well.
“I love that you thought about those kids who need help,” board member Jeff Crawford said.
“I really think there’s a lot of people in this community that will jump on that,” Otley said.
The staff and board agreed that the second option is the best – with community members helping those families unable to afford pool passes on their own.
Otley suggested that families who purchase pool passes prior to opening day get five guest passes. Families can donate those to other families if they wish.
In other business:
- Board President Jodi Anderson talked about upcoming fundraisers including the annual wine and cheese event, plus a new BG Brewfest which will highlight local breweries.
- Natural Resources Coordinator Chris Gajewicz reported the numbers of people using city parks continues to be high. “There’s just a constant parade of people past my window,” he said. “Hopefully we gain some new users because of COVID.”
- Gajewicz said he plans to host some birding walks in Wintergarden Park in mid-April, probably on Friday mornings.
- Ivan Kovacevic, recreation coordinator with BG Parks, reported that 1,000 people received COVID vaccinations at the community center earlier in the day.
- Otley reminded the board that 2,500 recreational need surveys had been mailed out to help the parks and rec department work on a master plan.
