Making a splash
Shaler pool one of first to reopen
Angela Akar was anticipating a summer without access to a swimming pool. When Shaler announced the Crawford Pool in Kiwanis Park would be opening Saturday, she said, “it was countdown in my house.”
Her four kids were ecstatic — three of them little swimmers, ages 6, 5 and 3, and a 15-year-old whose first day at the pool was as a newly certified lifeguard.
Crawford Pool’s opening day was what assistant township manager Judy Kording called “a soft opening,” made softer by the cool temperatures. Still, 108 people registered for the afternoon session. The first session, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., had 53 people register, and the evening session had 28. The pool closes at 8:30 p.m. every day, except Sunday, when it closes at 8.
The Hampton Community Swimming Pool also opened Saturday, from noon to 10 p.m. The two are among the first public pools to open in the region after uncertainty caused by COVID-19 and what would be permitted under the governor’s green phase of reopening. Some towns are not opening pools this year, and others are still deciding.
The pandemic policy limited people at the Crawford Pool to no more than 200 per 2½-hour session.
A 30-minute interval separates each session to allow time for cleaning. People had to pay for memberships online, and only Shaler residents will be admitted, Ms. Kording said.
Everybody had to bring chairs from home, and the snack bar wasn’t open to prevent people from clustering. The sliding board and diving board also were closed because of the commonly touched rails, she said.
Ms. Kording said that aside from following guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the township and pool managers were guided by the Pennsylvania Recreation Parks Society and the Aquatics Directors and Managers, an international organization.
“We merged these guidelines, and when the county went green, we talked to our pool managers and public works recreation foreman about when we could safely open.”
The rules posted at the entrance require masks be worn in the lawn area. Few people wore them, but
except for family clusters, people were leaving plenty of space between themselves and others during the afternoon session.
The pool was sparsely used. Most people were in lawn chairs. Ms. Kording said she hoped for more returns as the days warm more consistently.
“Usually, our pool revenues are between $60,000 and $70,000, but this year, we’re at $26,000,” she said.
David and Donna Manco, whose children are grown, go to the pool most summer days, he said. He swims some, and she does water exercises.
He said they are happy to be back, “and I can’t say I’m worried” about the pandemic. “I follow the rules.”
For the Akar family, a summer without the swimming pool was a worry.
“During normal summers, we’re here almost daily. I work in the day, and I’d come home and we’d have dinner and then go to the pool in the evening,” Ms. Akar said.
Now she is working from home as a clinical research coordinator for Children’s Hospital.
Before the Crawford Pool opening announcement, she said, “I thought, ‘What am I going to do with the kids all summer? This is the thing they most look forward to every summer. Some people complained that the snack bar isn’t open, and I said, ‘So what?’ ” She brought snacks from home.
“It’s for our safety. I’m grateful we have this opportunity.”