Early pool-opening date has city park crew's backs to wall

With the opening of the Greencastle Aquatic Center less than two weeks away, assistant pool manager Mitchell Ball (foreground) and park seasonal maintenance employee Shea Arnold power wash the bottom of the pool Friday to prepare for filling it for the season. The pool is set to open early this year, beginning operations on Thursday, May 23.

Break out the bikini and bust out the sunscreen, it's going to be summer swim season in Greencastle before you know it.

For the first time in recent memory, the Greencastle Aquatic Center will get a jump on the summer season, opening the city pool before the traditional Memorial Day weekend start.

Weather permitting, of course.

The aquatic center is scheduled to open for the season on Thursday, May 23 since the last day of school for Greencastle students is Wednesday, May 22.

"Usually we shoot for the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend," Park Director Rod Weinschenk said, "but with school getting out that Wednesday, we're hoping to open a couple days early for the kids."

To accomplish that, Weinschenk had crews all over the pool deck Friday. Assistant pool manager Mitchell Ball and seasonal maintenance employee Shea Arnold were power-washing the bottom and sidewalls of the pool to prepare for filling it with water for the season.

As they labored in advance of coming rain, Weinschenk said that was figured into the plan.

"We're scrambling right now. We're hoping Mother Nature can help us out," he said of the pool-filling process.

Of course, had the pool been power-washed last month, the nearly 11 inches of April rainfall might have it filled by now.

In the meantime, mucky water in the diving well was being pumped out as those hands on deck watched in anticipation of a snapping turtle reportedly seen in that murky mess in the deep end.

Sunny days, however, appear ahead beginning Sunday if you can trust the weathermen.

"We're hoping for the best over the next two weeks," Weinschenk said. "We're hoping for hot, sunny weather to get us ready to open.

"We need good weather to open, which has to be defined as 70 degrees air temperature and 70 degrees water temperature to avoid any hypothermia situation. That's just our policy."

The city pool opens daily at noon with open swim 12-5 p.m. and evening open swim 6:30-8 p.m.

In between, family swim and water babies learn-to-swim lessons are conducted 5-6:30 p.m.

Daily admission rates for the 2013 season are unchanged from last season. Anyone age five and older will pay $5 to go to the pool, while youngsters four and under are admitted free.

While record April rainfall and continuing May showers may have your yard in disarray, imagine what it must be like trying to mow and trim the 25-acre grounds at Robe-Ann Park in Greencastle. Assistant Park Director Troy Scott mans the weedeater between rain showers Friday, making dandelion tops fly on the hillside behind the bandshell. With areas still to cut and trim, Park Director Rod Weinschenk said it looks like the department will spend Mother's Day on the mower.

Season passes are priced as follows: Individual season pass, $50; and family pass (4 people), $150 (with $25 added for each additional person).

A Greencastle Gate Pass, good for 10 admissions, is available for $40, which represents a savings of $10 per pass.

The pool is also available for private pool rentals and birthday parties again this year. The cost of pool rental varies by the number of persons attending (1-75 people is $160; 76-150 is $230; 151 or more people is $310).

For birthday parties, the base rate (1-10 people) is $75 with an extra charge of $5 for each additional person.

Swimming lessons will also be available at the pool again this summer.

The learn-to-swim program for youngsters age 7 and up is $35 for 10 half-hour lessons. Water babies, designed for preschoolers, also costs $30 for 10 half-hour sessions.

The last day of the 2013 pool season is listed as Aug. 12.