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It is troubling to feel compelled to express a pessimistic viewpoint about anything related to Lakemont Park, which has been such a fun, family oriented fixture of the Altoona area for so long.
But a situation at the park has reached the point where being optimistic seems virtually impossible.
The situation in question involves the water park complex, which apparently will not be open this summer. This year will mark the fourth consecutive summer season that the park will be without most major elements of the water facility.
Unless some positive development of major scope springs forth, 2023 could be the year when, at least regarding the water park, the final "tombstone inscription" regarding this recreational asset is written.
But before then, one thing must be said upfront -- a message that holds the key to avoiding permanent water-park closing.
It is a message that needs to be disseminated well beyond the park's -- even Blair County's -- boundaries, since the park each summer is enjoyed by people residing far from the park's main entrance.
The apropos message -- or notice -- at this time is that only abundant support, or a fulfilled promise of such support in the months ahead, are the only available means for possibly saving the water park complex in the near term, as well as over the years ahead.
And, this message needs to be directed not only at a municipal, nonprofit or business partner that might emerge but, more importantly, at the potential users of the facility, the most important element of the water park scenario.
Then there is something else, the final piece of the park challenge: finding the right attractions tied to the water park to entice people to want to go there, not only once but numerous times throughout the summer.
The water park complex is not going to survive by just offering the "same-old, same old" year after year, while the community around it continues to change in numerous ways, making for more interesting fun and, beyond that, more interesting memories, especially for the young.
The adults involved with Lakemont Park's future need to reflect on the kind of park-and-recreation memories they have and why they did -- or why they did not -- become bored to the point of turning away from the facilities they had available to them.
It must be questioned whether enough of such reflection has occurred, or is planned for the future.
Again, considering current and recent realities, it is difficult to image some helping-hand entity willing to step forth for what already had been a negative financial experience before the years of the complex's non-opening began.
"2019 (the last time the pools were operational) was a negative financial experience, with only two pools attracting only a limited audience," said Andrea Cohen, president of the Lakemont Partnership, the organization that operates the park and, thus, the water complex. "We hear/get limited inquiries from some Facebook followers, but most park guests have accepted the fact that the water park is not an option."
And, when something is not operational, it oftentimes is doomed to deterioration, which makes reopening less likely with each subsequent year.
Lakemont Park has "written" a wonderful story for Altoona during its years of existence, but continuance of chapters to that story never can be guaranteed.
That fact has never been clearer than what the current challenges indicate.