No Weekend Walk-Ups in New Pool Fee Proposal

The has put out a revised proposal for what to charge swimmers when the city takes over management of the municipal pool July 1. The revisions suggest limiting daily fee access to weekdays and streamlining annual and seasonal pass options.

Quarterly passes are now off the menu, as are seasonal individual adult and child passes. Daily fee access would only be available Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and would cost $10 for adult Piedmont residents, $20 for adult non-residents, and $5 for kids regardless of whether or not they live in Piedmont.

Without a seasonal or annual pass, a Piedmont family of four would now have to pony up $30 and a family from out of town $50 to spend an afternoon at the pool, compared to $18 under , which did not distinguish between residents and non-residents for daily access. Now Piedmont families that want to visit more than 15 times a summer would be compelled to at least buy a $450 seasonal pass for recreational access; more than 11 visits for a family from out of town would make the $550 non-resident seasonal recreational pass tempting.

The originally proposed daily fees were so cheap, community members who weighed in at the May 4 or via email worried few families wanting to swim during summer recreational hours would ever buy a pass, denying the pool a reliable stream of revenue.

Limiting daily access and hiking the cost of admission could also avert overcrowding, which has been a nagging concern for loyal users and supporters of the pool.

"If people buy a pass they want to be able to use that pool, and they don't want it to be cheek to jowl on the deck," said Recreation Director Mark Delventhal. "The proposal is we won't have any walk-ups on weekends. … That's one of the strategies we're trying."

The Recreation Commission is slated to vote May 18 on a fee schedule recommendation that will then be forwarded to City Council for approval.