The City of Nelson along with the Regional District of Central Kootenay announced the Gyro Park pool will remain closed for the rest of the year.
According to the City, the difficult decision came down to the current Public Health Orders (PHO), which do not permit drop-in access. With the current restrictions, those wanting to use the pool would have to pre-book but the Gyro Park pool does not have a booking system. The PHO booking would also only allow swimmers to be at the pool for an hour at a time and extra sanitization would be required between each session.
“If there were a sudden change to the PHOs related to bookings, it is important to understand that hiring, training, and scheduling staff for the pool is a significant undertaking and that preparations for the pool itself can take up to 4 weeks,” said the City of Nelson. “We cannot open the pool overnight, and given the short two-month season, it is just not feasible for this year.”
The City said there are a couple of other great places to escape from the heat. Both Lakeside Park Beach and Spray Park at Lions Park are open all summer from 10:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.. Also, the pool at the NDCC remains open for booking.