Parks and Recreation director pleased with Aquatic Center operations
T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY Shown recently is the entrance to the Marshalltown Aquatic Center. The facility borders the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA building and grounds and the Linn Creek Recreational Trail. Nearby is the Apgar Family Water Plaza and MEGA-10 Park.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Youth and adults are shown enjoying the zero-depth entry at the Marshalltown Aquatic Center in this undated photo.
T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY Shown recently is the entrance to the Marshalltown Aquatic Center. The facility borders the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA building and grounds and the Linn Creek Recreational Trail. Nearby is the Apgar Family Water Plaza and MEGA-10 Park.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Youth and adults are shown enjoying the zero-depth entry at the Marshalltown Aquatic Center in this undated photo.
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After reviewing attendance figures and considering all factors, Marshalltown Parks and Recreation director Kelsie Stafford told the Times-Republican Monday she is pleased overall with operations of the 2026 Aquatic Center season.
Total attendance was 25,164 admissions, she said. The facility opened for the season June 8 and closed Aug. 16.
Budget reductions, equipment failure, weather, periodic shortages of lifeguards and competition from neighboring communities have impacted attendance every season since the facility in the 200-block of Washington Street opened to much fanfare in 2005.
Consequently, the 2026 season was not exempt. However, budget reductions had a major impact before the first customer walked through the door.
Stafford and team decided to open the 2026 season later, close earlier, and close on Wednesdays due to budget reductions applied to the department, she said. Consequently, 2026 attendance was slightly lower compared to 2025.
"There were 2,735 fewer admissions (nearly 10 percent) in 2026 than in 2025," she said. "The AC was closed for 12 days this season, including Wednesdays and two additional days (weather related) not Wednesdays."
In 2025, the pool was closed for five days due to weather. However, there were 27,899 paid admission that season - the highest since 2017.
Ensuring the safety of all customers - especially youth – plays a major role in aquatic center staffing responsibilities. The AC employed approximately 28 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and 67 part-time employees in 2026, said Stafford.
There were three pool managers, five head lifeguards, 32 lifeguards, seven slide operators, three admission/concession managers and 17 admission/concession staff. They oversee a large facility equipped with diving boards, lap swim area, slides, water-walking and more.
On a hot summer day, the staff must observe several hundred customers and ensure they are not harming themselves or others. The total labor expense for AC operations was $149,684, Stafford said.
In past years, lifeguard availability was an issue which impacted pool operations, but that was not a concern this year. In past years, the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA was responsible for the hiring and training of AC lifeguards.
That policy changed, and Parks and Recreation now hires and trains lifeguards. Some of those also work at the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA.
In 2005, the AC was brand new, and expectations were that it would attract customers from surrounding communities in central Iowa that did not have swimming pools or they were outdated. However, several of those towns either built or significantly remodeled their aquatic centers since. Conrad, Grinnell, Grundy Center and Tama-Toledo all operate aquatic centers.
Stafford is a Prophetstown, Ill. native and University of Iowa graduate. She previously held recreation-related positions with departments in Iowa City, Coralville, Muscatine and Wilton.
She was hired as Marshalltown's Parks and Recreation director last year and began employment in June of 2025.