City Staff Recommend Letting Qualified Younger Swimmers Use Lap Lanes, Keeping 5:30 a.m. Opening

Swimmers under 18 with a valid USA Swim Card or who pass a skills test should be able to use the Piedmont Community Pool during the early morning adult lap swim period on weekday mornings, city recreation staff say.

Staffers also recommend keeping the current weekday opening time of 5:30 a.m. in place, despite some requests from pool users for a 5 a.m. opening.

Both recommendations are part of a staff report prepared by Recreation Director Mark Delventhal and Recreation Supervisor David Weisgerber.

The Piedmont Recreation Commission will hold public hearings on both issues at its meeting Wednesday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the City Hall council chambers, 120 Vista Ave.

Here's the complete staff report on both issues:

YOUTH SWIMMING IN DESIGNATED LAP LANES POLICY:

There was much discussion at the January 30 Recreation Commission special meeting on aquatics regarding our current policy that permits only those 16 years of age and older to swim during the early morning adult lap swim period on weekday mornings.

After full consideration and analysis of the existing policy, staff has concluded that it would be prudent to modify the policy on a pilot program basis through 2013 as follows:

During designated lap swim periods, individuals under the age of 18 will be allowed to swim if:

• They possess a current valid USA Swim Card (must be in-hand or on file with the PCP), or
• They successfully pass a Swim Test commensurate with the American Red Cross Swim Level 6 Fitness Criteria as designed and administered by the Piedmont Community Pool Manager or his/her designee.

Staff is requesting Recreation Commission endorsement of this policy. Staff has concluded that a skills/aptitude approach to this matter makes more sense at this time and should at least be tested on a pilot/trial basis through this year (December 31, 2013).  The age is being changed from under 16 to under 18 years of age in order to apply the same policy to all minors.

One of the reasons for this policy heretofore has been based on available space and providing adult use only during the weekday early morning lap swim periods.  Should space/demand become a problem, this policy may have to be revisited.

Please be informed that this proposed change to the current policy has been fully noticed to all PASS HOLDERS and other known interested parties.

WEEKDAY OPENING HOUR OF POOL:

There has been a request from several of the early am weekday lap swimmers to open the pool at 5:00am.  The current schedule has the pool open at 5:30am.

Staff is requesting Commission endorsement to continue the pool opening hour of 5:30am.  Staff has reached this conclusion for the following reasons:

• The pool use data for the 5:30am hour clearly shows that there is not a capacity issue at this time. This is based on a very low capacity standard (for any public pool even one of our size) for lap swimming of 18 swimmers (3 per lane).  It is very unusual for the number of early morning swimmers to ever exceed 18 individuals.
• Circle lap swimming (multiple individuals in the same lane) is a “way of life” in municipal pools, especially for the smaller public pools like Piedmont.
• Often, lap swimmers have the luxury of having a lane to themselves at PCP, but the appropriate standard, as concluded by staff, is 3 per lane. At most public pools, this number is generally higher, depending on the size of the pool.
• The PCP is open more hours than most any other public pool one could find.  In fact, the pool is open more than 50% of the time, around 5,000 hours per year out of 8,760 hours (24hrs/day x 365 = 8760). Staff believes this is ample, especially in light of the use patterns in the very early morning hours.
• While staffing challenges certainly can be managed, the earlier the pool opens, the more staffing issues would be encountered: continuity, retention, dependability, turnover. It is, after all, part-time work.
• If, in the future, crowding in the early morning hours becomes a problem, staff wil certainly address the issue, including re-consideration of the opening hour of PCP.

Do you think the pool should open earlier for lap swimming? Should minors be allowed in the lap lanes? Share your opinions in the comments section below.

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