WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Wausau Parks and Recreation Committee has given approval for city pools to experiment with free admission days for the remainder of the 2018 swimming season after a resident proposed waiving the fees altogether.
Committee Chair Pat Peckham says it’s a chance for those who haven’t been to the pools in a while to give them a try. “Maybe they haven’t taken their family there yet, they just haven’t gotten around to it. But, if they go on a free day, maybe they’ll bring their kids back on a couple of other days and we will make our money back.” Others on the committee noted that those at the pool will still need to pay for concessions.
Peckham adds that the experiment will also let city leaders know how overhead costs such as chemicals are impacted by the extra swimmers. He noted that the pools would be fully staffed on those days to handle the maximum capacity of swimmers allowed inside the fences.
Pool officials will be responsible for tracking data during the free swimming days such as attendance and incident reports. They’ll also be surveying those who attend to get their thoughts on the policy.
Philip Salamone is the resident who made the proposal, he says the idea came to him after watching his grandkids take advantage of the pools. He says he’s sure there are kids out there who don’t have the means to go swimming, and he calls that a shame. “I would like to see all kids be able to enjoy it as much as they do. That’s my only cause here.”
Salamone expected a result like this, but still noted his displeasure with the committee. “It’s too little, and it’s too late. If anything big happens it’s going to be next year. If they are going to try stuff, why not just try free pools for a year and see what happens with a donation box.”
Salamone adds that he’s not giving up the fight for free admission, adding that he will look at the possibility of grant funding or private donations to cover the $60,000 that city leaders have told him the pools would lose if all admission was waived.
The committee also expressed interest in having corporate or service club sponsors for free swimming dates in the future, and the possibility of themed days such as take your grandparents to the pool day.
The measure does not need to go to the full council because of the limited financial impact of the trial.
Below is the list of free dates for each Wausau pool for the remainder of the season:
Kaiser: July 8th and 29th, August 17th
Memorial: July 15th and August 5th and 10th
Schulenburg: July 22nd and August 10th
July 11th: All pools free
