POOLS TO REOPEN JULY 1
New rules include mandatory masks, online admission payment; council concerned about costs
Local swimmers, get ready, because Fourth Street and Whites Road will be ready for you soon.
Borough council voted Wednesday night to authorize reopening of the town’s two pools starting July 1, with a long list of new rules to follow.
“The ‘ayes’ have it: we will open the pools. We certainly have a lot of work to do,” said council President Denton Burnell.
Since the statewide shutdowns due to COVID-19 were ordered in mid-March, council and staff have discussed in April and in May how to reopen the borough’s two pools as state and county closures are lifted. In early June council discussed at length a proposal to reopen both pools on July 1, with new rules including limits on the numbers who can attend at once, requirements to wear masks and maintain distancing, and mandates that all registrations must be done online instead of in person, that members bring their own chairs and/or pool toys, and that registration be limited to only borough residents and past non-resident members.
Council members said Wednesday they’ve heard plenty of feedback from local swimmers about that proposal.
“I’ve been on council for over ten years, and this is right
up there in the top, maybe three, issues that people really let me know how they feel about it,” said councilwoman Mary Fuller.
Since the last round of discussions, council members said Parks and Recreation Director Karl Lukens has provided estimates of what the late-season pool reopening will cost, with significantly reduced revenues due to limited entries, and no single-day passes to minimize cash exchanges. Each year the two pools run at a combined operating loss of roughly $70,000 of expenses over revenues, Fuller said, and early estimates are that the 2020 deficit could be double that amount, but the difference could be offset by lowered spending elsewhere in the parks department budget.
“We did come up with ways to close at least half of that gap, the second $70,000, and close that gap to about $13,000,” Fuller said, by delaying other purchases and expenditures. “Do I like it? No. Can we absorb it? We can — we will find a way.”
Only two of the eight council members voted against the proposed reopening, including administration and finance committee chairman Leon Angelichio, who said as a parent of a swimmer he’d be glad to see the pools back open, but as a steward of taxpayer dollars he had trouble authorizing the added expense.
“I’ve read every email, I’ve fielded many more phone calls than I thought I ever had time for, and there are a lot of people that are passionate about opening the pools,” said Angelichio.
“I struggle with the justification of opening pools late, cutting the revenue associated with it, and adding what could be considered a significant amount to the disparity between what we bring in and what we put out,” he said.
Councilwoman Meg Currie Teoh also voted against the planned reopening, saying her main concern was that reopening the pools would only be a benefit to residents who could afford memberships.
“There are a number of people in this borough who continue to struggle financially,” Teoh said; “eventually, folks will have an enormous amount of back bills to deal with, and I just can’t move past that and vote to spend more on the pools.”
Several council members said they hoped staff would look into ways to find further help for residents who may have lost jobs or income recently, but saw few better deals than the pool for local family entertainment.
“Let’s say it costs $250 for a family of four to join our, not one, but two swimming pools. Say they go an average of 40 times: that’s $6.25 a visit, for four people to spend as much time as they like at our pool,” said councilwoman Carrie Hawkins Charlton.
“They can’t even go to McDonald’s for just $6.25, they can’t go to the movies, there are a lot of places they wouldn’t be able to go. Do I think that’s where we need to stop? Absolutely not,” she said.
Councilman BJ Breish said he thought the pools serve an important role for kids across the town, giving them something to look forward to — and parents a way to get them out of the house.
“W’ere not talking about opening the pools, we’re talking about mental health. We’re talking about giving people hope, and that’s not lost on me,” he said.
Councilman Bill Henning said he has a daughter who has been a lifeguard for several years at the town pools and is looking forward to doing so again, and asked if daily memberships or rentals before the normal operating hours could be added later in the season. Lukens said those could be options after staff see how operations go during the first few weeks, and Hawkins Charlton said she and the parks committee had discussed ways to raise new revenue last fall during budget season that could be revisited now.
“I’m hearing two things very clearly: we should think harder about revenue generating for the pool, and I’m also hearing that this issue, this COVID issue, has brought to light that maybe we’re not doing enough to serve the underserved in our community,” said Burnell.
The new pool rules were publicized on borough social media channels Thursday and work by staff will begin right away.
“I know you have a lot of lifeguards and staff to train, but thanks for all of the work you put into this,” Burnell said.
For more information on Lansdale’s pool reopening, visit www.Lansdale.org or follow “Lansdale Parks and Recreation” on Facebook.