COLUMBUS, Ind. — Donner Aquatics Center hopes to open for the first time in two years late this month.
Public swimming sessions at the facility at 739 22nd St. are scheduled to begin Thursday, May 27, the first day of summer vacation for Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. students, Aquatics Center Director James Lemke said.
Open swimming will be weekdays, from 1 until 6 p.m, while weekend and holiday hours will be noon to 6 p.m., Lemke said.
With COVID-19 still a threat, a number of precautions are being taken. For example, a maximum of 250 people, including staff and clients, will be allowed in the pool area at any given time, Associate Director of Recreation Nikki Murphy said.
There are concerns that there could be opportunities for COVID-19 to spread directly between patrons in the pool deck area, pool enclosure, and sanitary facilities. For that reason, following Indiana State Board of Health guidelines, patrons will be asked to observe social distancing and encouraged to keep a mask on when socializing while out of the water.
Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for children 6-17, and $3 for kids 3-5 years old, according to the center’s website. Infants and toddlers age 2 and under are admitted free.
This year, a decision was made not to sell season passes this summer following an extensive amount of researching and bench-marking of other facilities, Murphy said.
“Because we have to limit our capacity, there’s no way to guarantee season pass holders would be able to be admitted with enough frequency to be worth the value of their pass,” Murphy said. “So we are handling the pool on a first-come, first-serve basis for public swim.”
For the complete story, see Saturday’s Republic.
