Resident's request leads to evening open swim at La Cygne
- Roger Sims, Journal Staff
- Jun 25
- 3 min read
LA CYGNE – Look for the La Cygne Swimming Pool to make some adjustments in its schedule following a discussion with the La Cygne City Council on Wednesday, June 18.
Pool coordinator Angie Goodwin posted a new schedule on Facebook on Sunday, June 22, which included increasing the open swim time on Wednesday to eight hours, beginning at noon and ending at 8 p.m. Since the beginning of the pool season the open swim hours have been 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., although there have been closings because of inclement weather.
At the June 18 council meeting, city resident Jamie Allen asked that the open swim hours be extended beyond the 5 p.m. closing. Allen said that parents who worked until 5 p.m. couldn’t swim with their children on weekdays. She also noted that older kids who worked couldn’t swim within that six-hour window as well.
Mayor Debra Wilson said that in the past the open swim had been until 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. because attendance during the evening drops off dramatically while expenses remain constant.
“We have to be very cognizant of our expenses,” Wilson said.
Goodwin said that the hours earlier in the season had been set looking at prior experience at the pool. That’s when the decision was made to close the pool at 5 p.m. because the pool attendance was light after that time.
“I’m not against opening later one night a week if it is approved by the council,” Goodwin said. “I have (life) guards that will stay.”
Council member Ed Smith said he would promote the idea of being open in the evenings, and council member Keith Stoker asked about shifting the open swim hours back an hour. He suggested that instead of starting at 11 a.m. to starting at noon, and instead of closing at 5 p.m., closing at 6 p.m.
Allen asked if there was the possibility of having an evening open swim at least one day a week until the pool closes in August.
Goodwin said that she would be opening to trying some variations, however, she asked if she would need to come to the council for their approval first.
Council members agreed that as pool coordinator Goodwin had the power to adjust the hours without council approval.
However, the mayor suggested that Goodwin meet with the council at the close of pool season for an after-action review meeting to find out what works and what doesn’t work.
City Clerk Jodi Wade reminded the council that budget was a limiting factor as was the amount of hours a lifeguard could work in a day. The city can’t afford to keep lifeguards until 10 p.m. and it can’t ask them to work 11-hour days, she said.
“You have an operating budget,” said Stoker. “You need to keep that in mind and manage it. You have a budget for this year, you’ve got to follow it.”
Here are the hours posted for the week beginning June 23:
• Monday: 10 to 11 a.m. adult swim; 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., open swim;
5:30 to 6:30 p.m., adult swim
• Tuesday: 10 to 11 a.m. adult swim; 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., open swim;
6 to 7 p.m. aerobics
• Wednesday: 11 a.m. to noon, adult swim; noon to 8 p.m. open swim
• Thursday: 10 to 11 a.m. adult swim; 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., open swim; 6 to 7 p.m. aerobics
• Friday: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., open swim: private party 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., open swim
• Sunday: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., open swim
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