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The Fayette City Pool will not open this year. The decision was made by the Fayette Board of Aldermen during its regular meeting Tuesday, May 5.
At first, the city hoped to open the pool after …
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The Fayette City Pool will not open this year. The decision was made by the Fayette Board of Aldermen during its regular meeting Tuesday, May 5.
At first, the city hoped to open the pool after about a month’s delay caused by regulations surrounding the novel coronavirus pandemic. But further complications make it far more unfeasible to open at all.
“I'd like to see the pool open,” said acting mayor and southwest ward alderman Grafton Cook. “However, practicality is an entirely different matter.”
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson gave the green light for pools to open as part of the state’s “Show Me Strong” phase one reopening, as long as they adhere to strict social distancing guidelines and rigorous cleaning regimens. East ward alderwoman and candidate for mayor, Stephanie Ford, reported her conversation with Bryan Kunze from the county’s emergency management office with regard to those regulations. Council members all agreed that enforcing six-feet distances between swimmers would be next to impossible.
Fayette’s interim city manager, John Hancock, said he is worried about potential liability issues if a swimmer contracted COVID-19. While the virus does not go through the water, it could be transmitted between swimmers, he said.
Nearby municipalities of Boonville and Moberly have already announced they will not open pools this summer. That means that any pool that does open could face issues as swimmers from other towns may cause overcrowding.
And to further jeopardize the pool opening, Fayette has lost many of its lifeguards, who have either taken other jobs or who wish not to risk exposure while working at the pool. “We only have five left,” said Danny Dougherty, Fayette’s director of public works. “We can’t open with just five guards without paying overtime.”
In addition, Fayette’s lifeguards have not yet undergone training or mandatory drug testing due to the pandemic.
“With those other pools being closed, and we get 30 or 40 kids in there, I don’t know how we’re going to handle them. And the disinfecting is going to be a nightmare,” Dougherty said.
The city is scheduled to repaint the bottom of the pool before it opens, a process completed every three years. He suggested the city keep the money it has budgeted toward the pool for this year and add it to next year’s funds to make improvements. “Put that money back and have it for next year so that we can buy some extra equipment.”
Opening a month late would also severely shorten the season, as the pool typically closes in early to mid August to contend with the starting of school and the opening of fall athletic seasons. By July, attendance has usually dropped off sharply. Even with a near-record turnout in June of last year, the pool still finished the summer of 2019 with about a $24,000 deficit.
Just to open the pool this year would cost Fayette around $5,000. The city is currently reeling from a revenue loss of around $150,000 due to the failure of its former administrator to timely file financial reports with the state. “Under the circumstances can we really even afford it this year,” Cook asked.
Dougherty said that city crews could go ahead and repaint the bottom of the pool and get it cleaned up to be ahead of the game for reopening in May of 2021.
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