Deer Park Mayor has rescinded the decision to keep the Deer Park City pool closed at Swinyard Park this 2021 season.
At the May 19th Deer Park City Hall meeting when the question was asked about the pool opening, the city council was told that city staff were working on a plan for the pool. On May 20th Brad Wainwright, Maintenance Superintendent for Deer Park City, advised that the pool should remain closed for the 2021 season. To read more on that go to: DPGazette.com/xfrya .
Before the next city council meeting scheduled for June 2nd, it was announced on the Deer Park City website that the Mayor and staff had decided not to open the pool, however there was no vote of the Council. Council member Schut went online and stated that in his opinion,” It’s time to open the pool, get people back to work, and give the people choices based on their own comfort levels. This might take some extra work, but it is worth doing.”
After the notification of this online, people were not too happy. One such individual was Jason Upchurch, who is currently on the ballot for City Council Position 1. He asked people to contact the Mayor and share their opinions with the Mayor. Upchurch also contacted the Mayor and shared how he reviewed the restrictions and thought that there was a way to have the pool open this season. Going so far as to measure the pool and calculate occupancy limits; voluntarily crunching the numbers himself. He even went so far as to recommend paying the lifeguards the wage of $22/hour.
During last night’s meeting on June 2nd the Mayor Verzal announced that the pool would be opening. The city council unanimously passed a motion to increase funding by $52,800, mainly to hire lifeguards that are required to open the pool. The city has 10 positions open for staff; most will be lifeguards who are fully certified, however some could be hired with the purpose of being a COVID monitor. With $22/hour, guaranteed 30 hours per week there is additionally a guaranteed income no matter what happens with the pool’s ability to remain open. COVID-19 precautions will still be taken into account.
City Council Meetings
- Every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month at 7pm.
Meetings can be heard live at:
On your phone by dialing 1-669-224-3412 and using access code 805-100-029.
Minutes from past meetings, as well as the current night’s agenda, can be viewed and downloaded at: CityofDeerParkWa.com
Editor Note: Richard Schut is one of the owners of the Deer Park Gazette.
