Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed Executive Order 20-104 last week, which will allow pools to resume activities under new guidance and restrictions. The Crookston Community Pool will be reopening Monday, January 4 at with lap swimming at 6 a.m.
It had previously been announced pools would remain closed while other youth activities could begin on January 4. Crookston Pool Manager Cody Brekken said it was nice to see the inconsistencies between pools and those other activities get addressed. “We got different information on the 23rd here with specific guidance just for pools,” said Brekken. “That was good to see. I think a lot of people wanted to know the inconsistencies with the pool and other youth activities. They all have us on the same opening day of January 4. So, Monday, we can pretty much reopen everything that the pool had done previously except for our open swim.”
The only activity the pool can’t yet hold will be open swimming time. However, Brekken said the other scheduled activities in the pool would resume their normal times. “So, starting Monday, January 4, we’ll have our lap swimming at its normal time,” said Brekken. “That’s Monday through Friday from 6-9 a.m. We’ll have our aqua exercise class from 9-10 a.m. And our youth Wellness Swimming program can begin again. That goes from 3:30-5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.”
Brekken said those who had paid for the Wellness Program for November would have that carry through January. “For those who signed up in November, that month got cut short by about four or five days of swimming,” said Brekken. “They’ll get January covered. They can come swim in January, and we’ll pick payment back up in February. If you want to join Wellness Swimming, you can go to https://cityofcrookston.revtrak.net/ or give Andrea a call at the City Hall Park and Rec Department 281-1242, and we can get you signed up for Wellness as well.”
The new guidelines and restrictions include increased social distancing and a limit on the number of people in the pool. Brekken said they’ll look at setting a schedule with one-hour swimming lots for the lap swimmers. “It’s a little different now,” said Brekken. “Instead of six feet of social distance, they have 12 feet of social distance while in the building. And we’ve got 25 percent capacity in the building we operate. That number is really high so that we can have about 80 people in the building. But in the water, we can only have 10 people at a time. If you’re coming the first day, Monday, be prepared to be asked when it looks like you’ll come in the future, and we’ll build a schedule for weeks to come for times in the pool. With that, we’re going to restrict you to one hour of lap swimming, which is fine for most people to make sure everybody has an opportunity to get in the pool.”
Swimming lessons can also resume on an individual or private basis. “We’ll have individuals to start,” said Brekken. “I will still be missing my college crowd for about three weeks or so. But I’ve got a big waiting list already of individual one-on-one swimming lessons. If you want to be added to that list for individual swim lessons, you can email me at cbrekken@crookston.mn.us.”
The Crookston Pool schedule is available at www.crookstonpool.com, and pool information is also posted to the Crookston Community Pool Facebook page (here) or available by calling 281-1180.
