Swim Center to open Saturday
Registration also is underway for lessons at the public facility on Kingston Avenue.
Northside Swim Center opens for the season Saturday and RomeFloyd Parks and Recreation officials are ready for a crowd.
The National Weather Service is forecasting showers and thunderstorms, but that could change by the weekend. Executive Director Kevin Cowling said Monday the public facility at 501 Kingston Ave. has been refreshed for the start of summer fun.
“Everything’s been done for over a week,” Cowling said. “We’ve been hiring and training lifeguards. They’re ready.”
The public pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. It’s also available for rent in the evenings and on Sundays for private parties. Call the Parks & Rec main office at 706-291-0766 for details.
Admission is $5 per person, but season passes are available. They’re $50 for an individual or $200 for a family of up to five people and can be purchased at the main office, 1 Shorter Ave.
Swim lessons also are being offered for ages 6 months and up, at a cost of $45. Registration is underway online at rfpra.com for the three scheduled sessions, which each consist of eight 45-minute classes.
Registration also has started for a slew of summer camps. Cowling said a scholarship fund seeded with $400,000 from the Floyd County Commission has drawn at least a dozen new families into the programs.
“These are people who are actually in need and we’re happy to take care of that — to get their kids involved in sports or camps,” he told members of the Parks & Rec advisory board.
Discounts of 50 percent and 75 percent are available, depending on a family’s income level, and enrollment is good for a full year. Applications are available at local schools and the Parks & Rec main office.
In other action, advisory board Chairman Ralph Davis Jr. asked Cowling and City Manager Sammy Rich to look into adding water
fountains, restrooms and grills soon to Parks Hoke Park in South Rome.
“Kids have to use the neighbors’ homes, bathrooms ... we’re trying to get them to use the park more, keep them active,” Davis said.
Rome City Commissioner Milton Slack, a member of the advisory board, noted that facilities were removed from a number of neighborhood parks due to illicit activities. But he said revitalization of the area — including the new Burrell Square apartment complex — has led to a safer environment.
“Now it’s time to put them back,” Slack said. “It wasn’t the kids. The kids are suffering because of what the adults did.”
The 2017 special purpose, local option sales tax package contains a $2 million earmark for recreation, including improvements at Parks Hoke Park. Collections start after the 2013 SPLOST ends on March 31, 2019.