Prospect to open on limited basis

Staffing issues curb operating hours; attendees’ behavior continues as concern

Prospect Pool will open this summer, despite concerns about attendee behavior and deficiencies that make its long-term future uncertain. But the pool will have limited hours because of lack of staff.

Despite scouring the area for candidates, the Central Blair Recreation & Park Commission could net only six lifeguards, one of them part time, one manager and one cashier. So that can only keep the facility open six hours a day, four days a week, according to commission Executive Director Mike Hofer.

Unless it can attract additional lifeguards in the interim, pool hours will be restricted to noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, June 7 to Aug. 13, Hofer said.

"We really want to try to get that facility open to the public," Hofer said. "(But) right now, for anything more, I don't know how we would cover it."

In recent weeks, commission staff has been preparing the pool -- draining, cleaning, sealing cracks, patching concrete and painting, Hofer said.

On Monday, after the malleable material has cured, workers will begin adding water, and near the end of next week, will "turn on the pumps and make sure everything is working," Hofer said.

If three or four more certified lifeguards agreed to work at Prospect, the commission could "add a day or two -- or even three," Hofer said, although the commission has already tried several career fairs, school events and online recruitment websites.

Realistically, the commission would need 11 or 12 lifeguards to operate seven days a week, Hofer said.

As it is, daily call-offs could mean impromptu closures even with the proposed limited schedule, Hofer conceded.

The commission might be able to deal with one call-off by shutting down the diving well. But if two or three workers call off on a particular day, "we might need to put up a sign that says we can't open," he said.

To deal with behavioral problems that have plagued the facility in recent years, the commission had hoped to employ a security presence.

But the company it deals with regularly couldn't spare the personnel, Hofer said.

The commission, however, hopes to keep control this summer with help from periodic visits by city police officers, Altoona Area School District police officers and with a new no-tolerance admission policy that will require anyone 15 and younger to be accompanied by an adult, Hofer said.

Most of the problems in recent years have been caused by middle school students, Hofer said.

City Police Chief Joe Merrill has agreed to boost the "community policing" presence when the pool is open, said board member and city Mayor Matt Pacifico.

In addition, Merrill will amend his department's memorandum of understanding with the school district police department, so that the pool will be within district officers' jurisdiction, Pacifico said.

District police know the kids -- and know which ones typically cause trouble, said board member Ed Frontino.

Conversely, the kids know the officers, they said.

The new policy will require that any pool patron who is removed will be banned for the entire summer, with triggering offenses that "include but are not limited to vulgar language, stealing, back-talking lifeguards and CBRC staff, pushing others into the water, deception of age, faking a drowning, fighting, trespassing, vandalism, possessing a weapon, physical violence, assault and failure to follow any of the general rules and policies posted."

A pool gatekeeper will enforce the requirement that kids 15 and younger must be accompanied by someone at least 18, Hofer said.

Because kids often lack identification cards, the gatekeepers may need to rely on the word of those who claim to be older than 15, he said.

Gatekeepers also may sometimes need to rely on the word of the alleged adults who accompany those kids -- although anyone who is 18 probably has access to an ID card, according to Hofer and board member Dave Francis.

While relying on kids' honor may result in some getting in without an adult, even one instance of lying means a ban for the rest of the season, Hofer said.

And "nine times out of 10," staff will discover a lie, because "kids talk and parents talk," Hofer said.

While the pool will open this summer, its long-term future remains murky.

A consultant hired by the city to assess the condition of the facility and estimate the cost of options for repairing or replacing it has not yet completed the task, Hofer said.

The consultant was expected to look at the masonry of the pool and deck, the electrical and filtration systems, the locker room and lights and what is needed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The consultant will provide estimates on the cost of a minimal return to operation, of replacement to the facility's original state and of replacing it with an up-to-date facility that would not necessarily be in the same location, Hofer said.

Among the major issues is leakage; the pool lost a foot of water per day last summer.

The current City Council, though, is supportive of Prospect, Pacifico said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.