SAFFORD — In Arizona, the start of school doesn’t mean the end of hot weather, so the Safford City Council voted unanimously Monday to extend operation of the city’s public pool until Oct. 2.
“We would keep counts of the number of people that attend, each daily count, so we know, going forward, is this something that we want to continue to do or are we not getting enough full patronage to extend it that long,” said Susan Anderson, the city’s Planning and Community Development director.
Anderson said the pool manager confirmed that life guard staffing will be sufficient to keep the pool open the extra days. Cost for the extra days of operation is about $2,630 per week, or a total of about $10,520.
Adult lap swim will take place Monday through Friday from 7-8 a.m., and Monday through Thursday from 5-6 p.m.; family night swims will take place Monday through Thursday from 6-8 p.m.; open day swims will be Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m.; and the pool will be made available for private parties Saturdays from 5-7 p.m.
Mayor Jason Kouts also asked staff to investigate both cost and if there is interest in opening the pool on Sundays. Anderson suggested that discussion take place during 2022-23 budget talks next spring.
In 2019, the council agreed to extend the pool’s operation past the opening of school to Aug. 31. This year, prior to Monday’s meeting, the council agreed to keep the pool open until Sept. 4.
