T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM — Todd Dale, facilities manager at the Marshalltown Aquatic Center, walks one of the slides on Friday, looking for possible leaks to fix before the Monday opening.

The Marshalltown Aquatic Center opens for the season today at 1 p.m. Residents will be able to enjoy a dip in the lazy river or fun-filled descents down the water slides until Aug. 20.

Marshalltown Parks and Recreation Director Geoff Hubbard said there are no new rules or regulations patrons will have to follow this year. While the center was affected by a lack of staff last year — most notably by a reduction in the hours and days of the week — actions have been taken to ensure there are enough lifeguards.

“Last year, we had 17 guards, 15 per day, seven days a week,” he said. “That is not something we could do. The guards would have gotten burned out. This year, we should have 27 lifeguards, so everyone will have a couple days off per week.”

Hubbard said the actions taken included increasing the hourly pay of the lifeguards from $11 per hour to $13 per hour.

“The higher wage was a response to the lack of staff,” he said. “And it’s not just us. Most pools do not have enough guards. In Des Moines, some pools were only open certain days.”

Also, the city offered free lifeguard training, which is required. The cost of training is anywhere from $250 to $300, which prohibits people from applying for the positions, especially since they tend to be teenagers or traditional college-age people.

“The city paid the lifeguard instructor,” Hubbard said. “The class was at the high school and the district let us use the pool for free.”

Both actions made the task of filling all of the positions much easier.

“Guards not paying for the class, and getting an extra $2 per hour helps out a lot,” he said.

The eagerness of the opening was apparent as Hubbard said children would yell at employees, asking when they would be able to swim again.

“We’ve had phone calls from parents asking when we were going to open,” he said. “We are fully excited for the kick off this year. We are fully staffed and back to normal. There are no more COVID protocols. The opening is a sign summer is finally here.”

MARSHALLTOWN AQUATIC CENTER

Hours: 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday; 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday

Cost: $5

Address: 212 Washington St.

Phone: 641-844-1515

POOL RULES

Children younger than 9 must be accompanied by an adult or a person at least 15 years old who supervises at all times in and out of the water;

Patrons must wear proper swim attire. No shorts or shirts with strings hanging. Gym shorts are not allowed. All apparel subject to approval by staff;

Non-toilet trained children must wear swim diapers and wear a swimsuit over the diaper;

No running;

No breath-holding contests or extended swim under water;

No rough play or wrestling;

Feet first entry only off the pool sides;

No backwards or twirling jumps;

No standing on top of, pushing off of or diving into water from floatable items;

No outside coolers and food;

No smoking, vaping, alcohol or drugs allowed;

Personal floats such as water wings, toddler floating seats and noodles are permitted at staff discretion;

No inner tube-type floats or air mattresses permitted;

Anyone wearing a personal float must be supervised by an adult at all times.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.