Jaren Gilbert scrapes the peeling paint off one of the seven benches at the Nelson Pool facility. Every year employees scrape, paint and repair the benches as needed to keep them safe for patrons and to keep them sealed so that they last us for several more years to come.
Rocky Miller, Nelson Municipal Pool Assistant Manger, repaints the visual cues on the pool deck. Visual cues are stenciled warnings, floor signs and lines that help aquatic facilities to meet regulatory codes and enforce rules.
Because of scheduling conflicts and Mother Nature's lack of cooperation, the Nelson pool may open later than expected this season. For the past several years, the Nelson pool has opened on Memorial Day even though the city council set the official opening for June 15.
The park board determined last fall that the pool needed a little TLC, so late last fall, Royce Schott went to work on sealing and patching the areas of the pool that required a little extra love. Once he had finished with that, a contractor was hired to paint the interior of the pool, but the temperatures and the rains have continued to put that off. Although frustrating, I will not complain about the moisture, as it is greatly needed.
Once the pool is painted, the epoxy pool paint takes several days to set before the pool can be filled. The pool chemicals have been delivered and pool employees have been working on cleaning up the pump areas and interior of the pool house in anticipation that once the pool is painted, they can focus on painting the lines and depth markers before filling.
Most years the water used to fill the pool is between 60º and 64º and requires several weeks to warm enough for swimming. The pool managers are hoping and praying that this year the water warms a little quicker so we can get the doors open and get on with summer fun.
This year's staff is as follows; Teraesa Bruce, manager; Rocky Miller, assistant manager-lifeguard; Kasey Vaughn, part-time pool operator; lifeguards are Jessica Sole, Raylene Miller, Caden Culbertson, Paige Hudson, Epiphanae Lowery, Natalia Werhman Jaren Gilbert.
There will be a small change to the pool passes this year. Pass holders will be given their pass and will be required to show it each time they come to swim. A record of season passes will be kept at the pool in case of a lost card. Seven-day pool passes will require a punch and a record of those will not be kept so if you purchase a seven-day pass be sure to keep it safe.
Every year I pray for the pumps to pump, the lifeguards to be attentive and the patrons to stay afloat. So if you would, please keep the pool, the employees and the patrons in your prayers as well. Here's to what we hope to be another safe and fun pool season.
Reader Comments(0)