Roger Scott Pool nightmare [podcast]

The city’s Roger Scott Pool opened on Tuesday, June 7, and family memberships have been sold for the daily open sessions—$125 city residents, $185 outside of the city. But there’s a problem. City Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier has found very few families can use the pool during weekdays.

“It has been two weeks of pretty much misery for the public trying to get in those pools,” Brahier told Inweekly. “The first notice I got was from a grandfather who had purchased family passes for each of his three daughters’ families. None of those families have been able to get into Roger Scott Pool as yet, and they’ve tried numerous times. When he went and spoke to them, they said, ‘Well, you can only get in when day campers are not here, when there’s room beyond the day campers.’”

Brahier said that families have told her that they have arrived at 9:05 a.m.—five minutes after the pool opened—and found a sign that said it was at capacity.

“When people took pictures and sent them to me and counted the number of people within the pools, it was 20 people,” she said. “So then when you ask the attendant, “Why? There’s only 20 people here.” “Well, we’re saving everything for the day camps.” Literally, saving everything for the day camps. So the public has been not having any access to these pools.”

Brahier said the most of the day camps are ones run by YMCA, which has the contract to operate the pools. She said she had met with city staff and received mixed messages. She turned the Roger Scott Pool with the city’s interim parks and recreation director.

She shared with Inweekly what they saw. “There’s a third pool there. This is the third season that it hadn’t been opened. It was full of water and debris, and just partitioned off with a sign that it’s under construction when there’s actually no construction taking place. The bathrooms are completely boarded up and separated off with no working bathroom. They put a toilet trailer out in the grass, outside the area, and then fenced off the area. So you can go to the toilet trailer. I mean, total disrepair, honestly.”

Brahier pointed out the city’s webpage says that there are lockers and showers and bathrooms and three pools—”and these things, which are just fictitious at this point.”

“There’s nothing in the budget to fix the bathroom. There’s nothing in the budget to fix the extra pool. There’s nothing in the budget to paint the flaking paint, which I actually see as somewhat dangerous around the pool as well,” she said. “To me, there was no concern about this city amenity for the citizens. I mean, just a lack of respect, honestly.”