Garden City Pool Gearing Up For 54th Season

Garden City's Recreation Department is less than a month away from welcoming the community to its 54th season of "fun in the sun" at the Garden City Pool.

Pool applications were mailed earlier this month. For those who never received one, download it from the recreation department's new website.

The complex officially opens Saturday, June 12, offering an array of programs, some even new this year.

"We're getting a strong response on the pool applications," says Kevin Ocker, chairman of the Board of Cultural and Recreational Affairs. "We're seeing a stronger membership sign up than this time last year."

Ocker, president of the New York State Recreation and Parks Society, an organization promoting quality recreation and park opportunities for all New Yorkers through education, training, technical assistance and support of local, county, state and federal recreation and park providers, said there is great interest in some of the new program offerings this season.

Trustee John Watras, board liaison to recreation, congratulated Ocker on the honor. "What's really great about being in that position is he continues to bring innovation to the division and such and I commend him on that," he said.

According to the recreation department's website, membership fees are as follows:

• The $445 "family pass" is available for resident families of the village and includes only immediate members (one or two adults and their unmarried children under 25 years of age) residing at the same address as a single housekeeping unit.
• The $315 "couple passes" are geared toward adult couples who are residents of the village residing at the same address as a single housekeeping unit. According to the recreation department, this membership does not entitle any other member of the family to use the pool or its facilities and gives no privileges to any people other than the member couple.
• The $395 "family of two pass" is for those resident adults over 25 years of age who live at the same address but do not qualify for the above two categories (i.e. parent and child or two siblings).
• The $275 "senior citizen couple passes" are for those who meet all qualifications for a couple membership and either applicant will be 65 years old or older before July 1. Proof of age is required (Medicare card not acceptable).
• A $240 "individual pass" is appropriate for a resident of the village 8 years of age or older. Applicants under 18 years of age must attach a letter of permission from a parent or guardian to their pool application. The recreation department advises that an individual ticket does not entitle any other member of the individual member's family to use the pool or its facilities.
• A $240 "non-resident caregiver pass" is for those non-village residents employed as a caregiver for a member of a village family. This is considered a restricted membership; holders of this ticket will only be admitted to the pool while in the company of the resident pool member that they are employed to care for.
• The $210 "individual senior citizen pass" is geared toward those who meet the requirements for individual membership and will be 65 years of age or older before July 1. Proof of age is required for this application as well (Medicare card not acceptable).
• The $535 "school district family pass" is appropriate for families that are not residents of the village but reside within the boundaries of the Garden City School District and also meet the family requirements.
• The $135 "late day individual pass" is eligible for those who meet the requirements for individual membership. The recreation department notes that this membership limits an individual to utilize the pool from 4 p.m. to closing Monday through Friday (weekend use of the pool and its facilities is not permitted).
• The $110 "senior citizen individual 10-pass pack" is appropriate for those who meet the requirements for individual senior membership. This membership allows you 10 visits to the pool Monday through Friday (weekend use of the pool and its facilities is not permitted).

The department's "E-Z Pay" plan allows for two installed payments. Please note a $10 service charge is added to all these memberships. The first payment is due when submitting the membership application; the second payment must be made no later than July 2, 2010.

If second payment is not submitted by then, the department will suspend all membership privileges until payment is received. This payment plan is not an option for the school district family plan and the 10-pass pack plan for seniors.

The recreation department will replace lost season tickets for a $5 charge and a signed statement verifying the loss. For those cases where the child is 17 years of age and younger, a parent or guardian must sign the statement.

For more information about the Garden City Pool's swim teams and other offerings this season, visit www.gardencityrecreation.org.