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The Pipestone Family Aquatic Center is ready for use and scheduled to open Wednesday, June 4, weather permitting.
It will be open Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. with the 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. hours being for family swim time, and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Lap swimming will be from noon to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. The pool is also available for rentals, and there are several sessions of group and private swimming lessons with limited openings still available.
Daily admission is $3 for those 7 and up and $2 for those under 7, and those 62 and over. Admission for lap swimming is $2.
The fee structure for memberships has changed this year. A single resident membership is $70 and a single non-resident membership is $82 as in the past, but rather than have different rates for different family sizes after that, there is a fee of $20 for each additional pass for residents and $25 for each additional pass for non-residents. There are also punch cards available for $30.
Krista Vanderwal, recreation assistant and pool manager, said pool memberships can be purchased and obtained at the aquatic center or at the Ewert Recreation Center.
Special events planned for the summer include a DJ on Wednesday, Aug. 6 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and a daycare day on Tuesday, July 1 from 10 a.m. to noon. On daycare day, Vanderwal said, children from participating daycares in Pipestone will be picked up and brought to the pool, and a meal will be provided. Those events will be supported by the Pipestone Jaycees.
New this year is H20 Tots during which children 5 and under with an adult can use the zero depth area during lap swim time from noon to 1 p.m. to swim without older children present. Also new are some food offerings including chicken nuggets, apple sauce pouches, candy options and large Mr. Freezes.
This year’s pool staff is expected to include 17 lifeguards, with five new guards, and nine front desk and concession stand workers. Many others spend over 600 hours of labor to prepare the pool for the season, according to Recreation Director Robert Petersen. That includes work by Bob Bullerman and other Pipestone Public Works staff, as well as park and recreation staff.
Petersen said the pool holds 276,300 gallons of water and takes 37 hours to fill. It was filled in mid-May.
