City pool is off to hot start this season

Friday, June 5, 2015

In his first year as Greencastle aquatics director, Phil Cornelius is already perplexed by fickle old Mother Nature.

"I'm starting to refer to Mother Nature as bipolar," he told the Greencastle Park Board Thursday night during its June monthly meeting at City Hall.

Yet for the most part, the weather has been more good than bad since the city pool opened May 23.

Through Thursday, the pool had been open for 11 days and closed for two due to cool or inclement weather thus far this season, Cornelius reported.

How does that compare to last year, Cornelius was asked.

Park Director Rod Weinschenk jumped on that query in quick response.

"He wasn't here last year," Weinschenk said of his assistant park director who was chosen last August to succeed Troy Scott, partly for his ability to operate the aquatics center.

"But it's been a lot better already," Weinschenk continued. "We've finally started to get warm weather to start the season."

And that has resulted in 2,372 people already visiting the pool, an average of more than 200 per day.

That's also meant admission prices of $13,712 being paid out thus far. Obviously at $5 per daily admission, that $13,712 represents more than 2,372 visitors should yield. The figure is bloated, Cornelius explained, by the purchase of season passes at the outset of the season.

Cornelius reported a single-day high-water mark of 423 pool visitors on Thursday, estimating that another 50 people or more probably showed up after he had taken his count and left the facility for the Park Board meeting.

Opening day this year even saw 198 visit the pool, while June 2-4 has seen the most activity with 298 visitors, followed by 289 and 423.

Meanwhile, both Cornelius and Weinschenk told the Banner Graphic they do not believe the new splash park, which has free admission, has had any negative effect attendance at the pool.

Cornelius said a rough count of attendance at the splash park thus far is 770, pointing out that at one time recently 75 people were at the splash park and more than 200 in the pool.

Since the splash park opens at 10 a.m. daily, Weinschenk notes there has been a lot of activity there before the pool is open that oftentimes has led to those visitors migrating to the pool once it opens at noon.

A number of people have come into the pool office to ask how much admission is to the splash park, Weinschenk said, and usually the youngsters plead with their parents to go to the pool as well, he said.

"So we're getting a lot of crossover," he told the Banner Graphic.

Meanwhile, Cornelius recorded the first "save" of the season at the city pool as he rescued one of the yellow bicycles belonging to the DePauw University sustainability effort from the water.

Officials believe someone climbed the pool fence and irresponsibly threw the bike into the water.

Initially park officials thought the yellow loaner bicycle belonged to the Putnam County Public Library, but there was a sticker on it with DePauw's name, identifying it as Bike No. 7.

In an email to Weinschenk after the bike was returned to the university, DPU Sustainability Director Anthony Baratta noted, "Every single one of these yellow bikes has come back to us over the past several years, but this is the most interesting story yet."

During its 45-minute meeting Thursday, the Park Board also:

-- Approved use of a portion of the People Pathways for the second annual C.A.R.R. 5K run in memory of Keith Carr on June 13.

-- Authorized use of the Robe-Ann Park bandshell for an outdoor service by Lifebuilder Church on Sept. 13 with a rain date of Sept. 20. The church will rent the bandshell and shelterhouse No. 1 on the hillside that looks down on it for the event.

-- Heard Weinschenk report that bid documents are being readied in preparation for letting for a Robe-Ann Park tennis court renovation project. An August start on the project is hoped for, the park director said. The project will eliminate two of the five full tennis courts, converting them into courts capable of hosting pickle ball or eight-and-under tennis activity.

-- Approved two changes to the salary ordinance for seasonal positions of program instructor/supervisor and concessions manager. Nancy Hagen has succeeded Troy Scott as program instructor and will continue to lead the SPARK effort. Ellie Boyce, meanwhile, is the concessions manager after filling the role of pool manager the past couple seasons before the hiring of Cornelius.

Park Board members Beva Miller (president), Tim Trigg, John Hennette and Cathy Merrell were in attendance Thursday night, along with ex-officio member Wayne Lewis and City Council liaison Phyllis Rokicki.

The next regularly scheduled Park Board meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 2, just two days before the annual Fourth of July celebration and fireworks at Robe-Ann Park.

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