City pools: attendance up, but revenue down

Kids are back into the classroom and out of the pools All public pools are now closed. And while July saw lower temperatures, pools saw lower revenue. “Attendance was up but revenue was down” says Al Moll, Director of City Parks and Recreation. That drop is mostly due to the record cool weather that took over part of the summer. “We only charge a dollar when the temperature goes below 80-degrees” says Moll. Taking a look back 14 days during July didnt break the 80-degree mark. Normally admission runs around 4 to 5 dollars. Combine that with an average of 500 people per day and thats a loss of around 25-thousand dollars in just a month. Moll says overall at all pools they were down “about 20-thousand dollars and brought in around 70-thousand dollars.” That revenue brought in from Northside, McMillen, and Memorial Pools. Swinney Pool stayed closed this summer in an effort to cut costs. “We got some negative feedback right out of the gate but people went to other sites” adds Moll. The city saved around 60-thousand dollars by keeping Swinneys gates shut. Regardless pool attendance was still up at Northside. “You would have thought with the cooler weather that attendance would have been down but perhaps the dollars days drove them there” Moll says. Besides the dollar days another factor causing a plummet in profits are the splash pads. There are 6 splash pads all together, 2 new this year, and unlike the pools, theyre free to enjoy. Swinney Pool will remain closed again next year to further cut costs. Talks about adding a splash pad at Swinney Park are in currently being discussed. Moll says it’s highly unlikely the “dollar days” will continue next year. Splash pads remain open until mid-September.