Add the city pool to the list of summertime activities now canceled because of the coronavirus.
Bellefontaine Joint Recreation District board voted in a regular meeting Tuesday not to open up the Hoffman Pool for the 2020 summer season. Parks superintendent Kris Myers cited budget concerns within the parks department, as well as guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control as reasons to keep the city pool closed this summer.
In order to operate the pool this year, the CDC is requiring six feet of social distancing both on deck and in the pool itself. Additionally, CDC guidelines called for additional staff to help enforce social distancing protocols at the pool.
Ultimately, board members reasoned they would not be able to provide residents a valuable service under those conditions, and opted to leave the pool closed for the year.
The city of Bellefontaine is hardly alone in its decision to keep its community pool closed for the year. Communities including Hilliard, Sidney and Piqua have also already decided not to open up their municipal pools this summer.
Closing up the pool for the year is the latest summertime hallmark to be canceled because of the coronavirus and related social distancing mandates.
High school graduations have been radically altered; community garage sales, which remain extremely popular especially in villages such as West Liberty; and Memorial Day parades are one-by-one being canceled because COVID-19.
Parks board members are hopeful, however, that at least one summertime ritual can still proceed. Youth recrational baseball and softball have not yet officially been canceled, according to discussion Tuesday.
Local ball associations hope to begin practicing in June and have a six-week or so season that would continue through about the end of July. Still, Myers cautioned that even those plans are subject to state of Ohio mandates.
Because of all the programs that were canceled, and in an effort to be as fiscally responsible as always, the parks district has hired only four seasonal employees this year. In more normal times, the parks district will hire as many as 12 seasonal workers.
Board members also recognized Tracey Burton, program and education coordinator for the parks district for her 19 years of service to the department. Burton recently accepted a position as the chief deputy auditor in the Bellefontaine Auditor’s office.
Tuesday’s meeting was conducted virtually using the Zoom platform, as well as broadcast on the park district’s You Tube channel. The next regular meeting is 7 p.m., Tuesday, June 2.
Any questions or comments regarding youth baseball or softball may be e-mailed to parks.