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Aquatics Center to open Monday
By Ralph Pokorny
Nevada Herald
After nearly 10 months of renovation the new Walton Park Family Aquatics Center is ready to open for swimming at 1 p.m. Monday.
"I think it's awesome," Alicia Leimkuehler, a 2003 Nevada High School graduate, said Friday afternoon.
Leimkuehler, a student at the University of Missouri- Columbia will be one of the lifeguards at the aquatic park this summer, a position she has held in the past.
Nevada is lucky to have this, she said.
Carol Branham, Nevada Park and Recreation director said that everyone is enthusiastic about the new facility. She said that people with mobility concerns like the swing chair to lower them into the pool.
In addition to the obvious physical changes at the pool like the new slide, there will be several other changes this year that will eventually speed up entry to the facility.
A new feature this year will be discount coupons that can be purchased in advance and unlike a season pass can be used by anyone who has a coupon.
The coupon books are available in three sizes: 15 coupons for $37.50, 30 coupons for $70.00 and 150 coupons for $225.00 for groups or businesses.
Regular individual admission will be $3.00; children two years old and under will be admitted free with a paid adult.
At the request of patrons the park will again have individual season passes available for $50.00 for persons age three and up. Additional immediate family members can buy a pass for $20.00. However, there will be a change in how they are administered.
Instead of just paying for the pass, each person who purchases a pass must have photo ID made by the city, at no additional charge. The ID, which also has a bar code on it that is scanned when a person enters the park, must be presented each time a person uses the pass.
Branham said that the ID would make it easier to find out if a particular person is in the park, since that information can be checked on the computer system.
The entire process of providing the needed information and making the photo ID will take about 5 minutes per card.
Branham said that they hope to eventually get that time down to about three or four minutes.
"I don't recommend coming at 1 p.m., because the lines will be long," she said.
For people wanting to buy season passes or discount coupon books the pool office will be open Monday from 9-noon. The office will also be open from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. and from 6-8 p.m. June 1-4 and 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday, June 5, "This is to help our patrons avoid long lines during open times," Branham said.
Regular hours for the aquatic center will be 1-7 p.m., Monday through Saturday and 1-6 p.m. on Sundays.
Another new feature is the ability to open the concession stand for people who are outside the center.
Branham said that they plan to open the concession stand each day at noon for those people who arrive early. It will also be available for people who come to the park for their lunch hour.