Town Park delays pool opening
The Town Park swimming pool in Canonsburg will miss its annual Memorial Day opening.
Don’t blame the coronavirus crisis directly.
According to Councilman Rich Russo, the May 25 postponement is due to a lack of manpower. During the pandemic, the borough maintenance department has not been working at full capacity.
“Internally we haven’t had the ability to get the pool ready,” Russo said. “We need a solid week to clean, fill and properly prepare the pool before it could open. We just haven’t had the manpower to do it because we are at half staff.”
Town Park, however, is currently open for walking. Gathering points such as the pickleball and basketball courts as well as the picnic pavilions are closed.
“Activity is up tenfold,” Russo remarked. “The area has become useful for citizens during this time. The paths are open.”
The path toward officially open the swimming pool, however, will be contingent upon Pennsylvania Department of Health guidelines. A planned Department of Health webinar set for Friday was postponed until next week.
The webinar, open to a select few, will speak to parks and recreations. Decisions are to be made regarding operations at parks and other facilities, such as municipal pools, as well as conducting camps.
While Washington County moves from the red to yellow zone on May 15, restrictions will still be enforced. One of the cautions, restricting gatherings of 25 or more, could impact pool regulations.
“The biggest hurdle seems to be how do we enforce social distancing,” Russo said, who noted Town Park’s pool size lends itself to allow for distancing.
“We don’t want to take away from the lifeguards. Their duties are to be on the lookout for people in distress,” he continued. “We don’t want to have them taking their eye off the ball. It’s a tough one for us. A complicated issue,” he added.
According to Russo, attendance at Town Park pool depends on the weather. On average 100 to 200 patrons flock to the facility on a daily basis, but the numbers can swell to 400 or so for a holiday like the Fourth of July or Labor Day.
Though it is just one aspect of the park, Russo dubbed the pool a diamond in the rough.
“It’s got a lot of character and charm. Sixty acres of old-school uniqueness,” he said.
While the borough is hoping to offer a place to swim this summer, Russo said it would not be a “disaster” if the pool did not open for the season.
“There are opportunities to upgrade things. There’s always maintenance to be done that is hard to do when there are people in pool. Those upgrades get pushed back. Maybe we can make them priorities.”