Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Parks and Recreation

 

TO:

David Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Ernie Shaw, Director, Parks and Recreation

 

CC:

Cynthia Wagner, Assistant City Manager

 

Date:

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

 

RE:

2012 Outdoor Swimming Season

 

 

As we begin our final preparation for the summer season, we are requesting to structure our Outdoor Aquatic Center (OAC) hours of operation to begin Memorial Day weekend (Saturday, May 26) and conclude in August (Sunday, Aug. 19) for full service operation.  Beginning (Monday August 20th) we will operate the (OAC) for adult lap swimming only Monday – Fridays until August 31st. The facility would not be available for other uses and only lap lanes would be open for these additional 10 days.

 

Safety is our primary concern for the adjustment. As noted in Jimmy Gibbs’ memo (see attached), we have a very difficult time adequately staffing all aquatic facilities through the Labor Day weekend as student employees leave to return to college.  We’ve also surveyed surrounding communities having multiple facilities and they too consolidate their focus to one facility toward the end of the outdoor season.  As Jimmy notes, many of these communities do not have an indoor aquatic facility that offers the opportunities that we have in our indoor facility here in Lawrence.

 

When we have operated the OAC through the Labor Day holiday in the past, we had to shift personnel beginning in mid-August from the Indoor Aquatic Center (IAC) to run the OAC at minimum safety standards. This meant that those patrons who paid to use either the IAC or the OAC  were unable to use all the attractions at either facility because from Mid-August to Labor Day diving features and waterslides at both pools maybe shut down on any given day due to staffing numbers. We feel that to provide the greatest experience for our patrons, in the safest environment, the OAC would need to close for full operation earlier than Labor Day weekend, but would be made available for lap swimming on a limited schedule.   

 

Action Request

Authorize the department to open the Outdoor Aquatic Center Saturday, May 26, and close the facility to the public Sunday, Aug. 19 for full service operation.  Beginning Monday, August 20th – August 31st (Monday –Friday only) the OAC will be open for adult lap swimming from 10am -1pm.