Swimming is expected soon at Highland Falls park
The rules may be a little different this year, but the plan — of both the town and village government — is to get the Roe Park pool open soon so that community residents can enjoy it this summer.
Mayor Joe D’Onofrio said this week that he’s requested a final inspection by the County Department of Health after resurfacing work was done on the pool. The water is in the pool, and it is being treated and tested regularly. Once the village obtains that operating permit, D’Onofrio said they pass it to the town.
From there, Recreation Director Aaron Falk said, they also have to get a permit, after proving that all of the lifeguards are correctly certified to operate the pool on a daily basis. Falk said they are working on that this week.
As that is happening, new operation protocols are being put in place, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Things will be different this year,” Falk said. The number of people allowed in the pool area will be limited as different ‘stages’ of recovery in the Mid-Hudson are met. Right now, D’Onofrio said he learned today, that number is 25. Falk said they’ll use three or four lifeguards at a time to not only do traditional supervision duties, but also to do ‘crowd control’. He’s looking at half-hour or so sessions of swimming to make sure everyone who wants to can get into the water. Signage will be posted inside and outside the pool with the public health requirements that must be maintained, including the use of masks and social distancing.
Falk said there will not be swim lessons offered at the pool this year, but instead it will be open longer hours each day. There will also still be a designated senior swim period.
Most of all, he reminds pool users that things may change as the summer goes on — the restrictions could become more lenient, or tightened, as deemed necessary by the Health Department.
