NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
A3
Gleason Pool to remain closed during Phase 2
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Phase 2 began June 5,
which gave an opportunity for
pools in the approved counties
to reopen for the 2020 summer
season, but restrictions, costs
and staff are some of the rea-
sons why Gleason Pool will
remain closed this year.
During the John Day City
Council meeting June 9, rep-
resentatives from the city and
the John Day-Canyon City
Parks and Recreation district
answered questions and dis-
cussed why the pool would
remain closed.
When it comes to the cost
of reopening, John Day City
Manager Nick Green said the
team would have to do things
that would severely limit the
amount of revenue the pool
could bring in while signifi-
cantly increasing the operating
costs.
Andy Day of John Day
asked what were the restric-
tions inhibiting the pool from
opening and the cost effective-
ness of the extra cost for open-
ing the pool.
Parks and Rec board mem-
ber Lisa Weigum said they
are a month behind in plan-
ning since the information
they had indicated pools
wouldn’t reopen until Phase
3 around late August or early
September.
“We’re already a month
behind in terms of mainte-
nance of the pool, so if every-
thing else went as planned, that
would still put us into July,”
she said. “Additionally we
don’t have the staff to man the
pool.”
Parks and Rec told the staff
who usually run the pool that
if other job opportunities came
about to seek them because
Parks and Rec can’t guarantee
their job.
This included the certified
pool manager, which requires a
three-day, in-person course that
could potentially be provided
online in mid-June. Training
for lifeguard certification is a
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
Audience members listen at the John Day City Council meeting on June 9 where Gleason Pool and Phase 2 were discussed.
three-day, in-person course not
being offered currently.
“The social distancing
required for people in the pool
is 30 square feet around each
person, and we’re liable to
make sure that’s enforced, and
we don’t really know how we
would do that,” Weigum said.
Some of the other rules that
would need to be enforced
would be to require staff,
including lifeguards, to wear
a mask, face covering or face
shield when not in the water;
maintain physical distancing of
at least 6 feet between people;
frequently clean and disinfect
work areas, high-traffic areas,
regularly clean restrooms and
ensure they are supplied with
soap, paper towels and hand
sanitizer for planned use; and
assign a physical distancing
monitor in the locker room
to ensure visitors follow all
physical distancing require-
ments, including at entrances,
exits, restrooms and any other
area where people may gather.
Weigum talked to their
insurance provider prior to
the meeting and learned that
Parks and Rec would have to
be in complete compliance at
all times, and if their provider
heard that they were not, Parks
and Rec would not have liabil-
Eagle file photo
Gleason Pool in John Day will remain closed through Phase 2 of the governor’s reopening plan.
ity coverage.
“It’s kind of complex,”
Weigum said. “I’ve heard peo-
ple in the community be like,
‘Hey, Boise is doing it. Why
can’t we?’ Well we’re Oregon,
they’re Idaho, so that’s the first
difference. The second dif-
ference is that what they can
offer and what we can offer in
terms of square footage looks
a lot different.”
Weigum has talked to
other pool operators in Pend-
leton, Burns and Lakev-
iew who also made the deci-
sion to remain closed. When
talking with Pendleton, they
did a cost-benefit analysis to
see if the finances would pay
off but Weigum said it didn’t
for them.
She also talked with oper-
ators in La Grande who are
only offering lap swim for a
limited period with one person
per lane, which is only open
to the hospital for therapy and
senior citizens.
“We’re trying, but it’s not
looking great for us,” Weigum
said.
Weigum added that the
decision was not taken lightly,
and a lot of consideration
was put into it with input
from the board meetings and
community.
With the pool remaining
closed for the 2020 swim sea-
son, Dusty Williams of John
Day asked if money would be
refunded to the taxpayers.
Weigum told the Eagle that
the funds would be used to
help fund other programs the
John Day-Canyon City Parks
and Recreation District pro-
vides in the community such
as youth activities and sports
like basketball, football, vol-
leyball, soccer and T-ball.
“We maintain the city
park and the Seventh Street
Complex, which is nearly 23
acres that includes two base-
ball fields, two softball fields,
two little league fields, open
green space, two playgrounds,
two picnic shelters, basketball,
tennis and pickleball courts, a
skate park, over a mile-long
walking path and restroom
facilities,” Weigum said. “The
role of Parks and Recreation
in this community is broader
than maintaining and operat-
ing the pool.”
Grant County Library preparing for when they can open
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
As phases roll out, allow-
ing business and buildings to
open their doors, one building
remains closed as they con-
tinue to work hard to be ready
to open: the Grant County
Library.
While the library had plans
to open on June 15 or June 22,
unanswered questions from
state officials have made an
opening date unsure at the
moment.
Grant County Librarian
Vicki Bond said they are wait-
ing until Gov. Kate Brown
talks with the head librarian
in the Salem area to figure out
what to do with the libraries.
“We just have to know
exactly how long to quaran-
tine our books,” Bond said.
“It has to come from the gov-
ernor’s mouth. That way our
county insurance will cover it
if somebody claims they got
COVID from us or one of our
books.”
Bond also expanded on the
difference in the county library
and why they need to wait for
the governor’s response.
“A lot of the libraries are
state-funded, and it’s a whole
different insurance policy, but
we are county policy and we
have to do what the governor
says,” Bond said.
The team at the library has
been hard at work preparing
for when they can open and
begin with curbside delivery.
Bond said the library got
bags and masks so they can
put books in them and then
hand them out at the doors of
the library. They also have dis-
infectant wipes to clean every
book and plan to date and
stamp every book for when the
book’s quarantine is finished.
For people going online
to see if a book is available,
the library is planning to have
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the system update to say if the
book is in stock and if it’s in
quarantine.
“We are trying our hard-
est to make our library come
back again because we have
so many people in our popu-
lation that can’t afford to buy
books and can’t afford to use
the internet for various things
such as trainings, job search-
ing and things like that,” Bond
said.
Eagle file photo
Grant County Library Director Vicki Bond at the library in 2018.
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