Swimmers hoping to use the city pool at Sunrise Plaza the past three days instead found the doors closed following reported vandalism to the facility. City officials said Monday they hope to re-open the pool Tuesday.
Visitors to the facility were frequently frustrated in January when the pool was shut down due to staffing shortages as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 swept the nation. This closure, however, was the work of vandals who reportedly decided to use the pool as a public toilet after hours.
“This needs to be addressed,” wrote one resident in an email to the city Monday. “The pool is a huge part of the community’s wellness and it’s safeguarding needs to be given some priority.”
The city is making the issue a priority, said Jeannie Kays, who is serving as the interim parks and recreation director, in reply to the resident’s plea to beef up security.
“We are working hard on a couple of fronts to get this to stop,” Kays wrote, adding that in the short term, “We have filed a police report and I’ve been in contact with the Chief of Police. We’re working with our security guard company to beef up patrols around the pool.”
Work is also underway for a more permanent solution, said Kays.
“We already had a request submitted to improve the fencing around the Swim Center and are hoping a replacement fence will deter illegal after-hours entry,” she wrote. “A new fence won’t happen immediately but, again, we were already working to get approved funding for this project.”
The pool is expected to reopen Tuesday at 7 a.m. It is located at 405 S. Pavilion Way, in the Sunrise Plaza complex, immediately adjacent to the Leisure Center.
The popular facility features an Olympic-size swimming pool and is normally open seven days a week for both lap swimming and recreational swimming between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. More information about the Swim Center is available here.
