By: Ryan Duey
Photo Courtesy of Ryan Duey
Clay Center Aquatic Park Manager Rayleen Dreher spoke to Clay Center Lions Club members during their meeting on July 15th. Dreher presented on the many different features of the swimming pool, her staff, swimming lessons, special events, and more.
Dreher has been with the Aquatic Park for 8 years, six of them as the Manager. She is Lifeguard Instructor Certified, training 30 new or returning lifeguards this year. Dreher said all lifeguards are Red Cross trained before the swimming season.
The pool employs nearly 50 individuals, between lifeguards, concessions workers, and office workers.
Dreher said last year’s data showed that they had nearly 475 individuals on opening day last year.
“I asked the ladies at the city to give me some data from last year. Our largest patron day was opening day with 473, that’s a very busy day, very busy day.”
“In fact, the water will start to get a little cloudy towards the end because there are just so many people coming in and out, plus everybody’s soaked up in sunscreen.”
“The average patron load for last year was 253 people a day versus 125 at the old pool.”
One fun fact Dreher highlighted was that the Aquatic Park was one of the very few pools open across the area during the 2020 COVID Pandemic. With guidance from the Health Department, they were able to open with precautions. This made them quite popular that year.
Dreher spoke a bit about policies, including what they do during weather events.
“We do have an air and water policy. It has to be 72° so we don’t run into any hypothermia.”
“Also, lightning cannot be within 15 miles. If it is, we have to clear the pool, and we can’t have any lightning strikes for the next 30 minutes.”
“If you are at the pool, and you hear over the sound system, ‘Code White,’ that tells the lifeguards there’s lightning, and they know to clear the pool.”
They also use a ‘Code Red’ for emergency situations, and, which recently occurred at the pool, the dreaded ‘Code Brown’ for bathroom accidents. All lifeguards on duty are trained on their assignments during these situations.
Many patrons will be happy to hear that the swimming pool will be open through Labor Day weekend again this year, with some adjustments when staff start back in school. Visit the Aquatic Center’s Facebook page to stay up to date with what’s happening at the pool.
