CHICKASHA – The YMCA will operate the municipal swimming pool in Shannon Springs Park again this year. The City Council unanimously approved renewal of the contract.
The pool will be open for “recreational swimming opportunities” from May 27 through August 31, but will be operated by the YMCA because the city “lacks the necessary staffing and operational capacity,” the contract states.
Corbin Lee, program director at the Chickasha YMCA, confirmed that typical hours of operation will be Monday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The YMCA can use the pool after 6 p.m. for swimming lessons “and for other purposes,” such as late evening classes or parties, he said. YMCA lifeguards and swim staff must be on duty during those times.
All revenues generated from gate admissions, swim lessons, pool parties, and all other revenue producing practices – such as recreational swims, YMCA membership usage, and third-party rentals of the pool – will be cr edited to the YMCA to offset their costs for staffing, safety, and janitorial expenses.
The City of Chickasha will be responsible for structural repairs and painting the pool, lawn maintenance, and for the water, electricity, and mechanical equipment.
The YMCA will be responsible for cleaning the pool and deck area daily, cleaning the restrooms daily and checking them every two hours for cleanliness and supplies while the pool is open, plus disinfecting and testing the water.
Dumpsters will be provided by the city, and the YMCA staff will be r esponsible for trash removal and litter pick-up “within and surrounding the pool area.” Trash will be collected weekly. Also, any graffiti “or similar vandalism” must be removed by the YMCA “within 24 hours of discovery.”
The city will “start putting water into the pool” this week, Parks and Recreation Director Spencer Winzenried told Southwest Ledger. “We want to make sure everything is working properly before the season opening.”
In January the City Council approved a $61,370 initial payment for repairs to the swimming pool. Primarily the invoice was for trenching around the exterior of the pool to accommodate new water lines, and removal of old equipment “in preparation for installation of new material,” Winzenried said.
The pool was constructed 40 years ago and “has multiple leaks,” he noted. The pool has been losing 4 inches of water, “about 15,000 gallons,” each day from evaporation and leaks, he said. “A dozen leaks were found during a pressure check.” The 6,132 squarefoot pool holds 236,809 gallons of water.
The council awarded a contract of up to $460,000 to Sunbelt Pools of Edmond, the lone bidder, to replace the pool’s filtration system, filter gauges, a couple of pumps, perimeter inlet piping, and all electric panels and wiring in the f ilter room.
The pool “will have the same shell, but everything behind the scenes will be new,” Winzenried said.
The Chickasha YMCA has operated the municipal swimming pool “since before 2007,” Executive Director Lewis Knisley told the Ledger last year. The contract approved by the City Council is between the City of Chickasha and the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City via its Chickasha Area Branch.
YMCA membership fees range from $18 per month for youths 12 and under, and $28 a month for teens aged 13-19, to $78 a mon th for a household, with reduced rates for military personnel and seniors. Non-members will be charged $5 to swim.
Membership includes access to all 14 YMCA locations in Oklahoma City, Bethany, Edmond, Midwest City, Norman, Guthrie, Stillwater, and Weatherford.