STARKVILLE — After months of aldermen discussing usage and public interest in Moncrief Park’s 70-year-old swimming pool, a pool party at Moncrief Pool made a big splash this past Saturday.
Brandon Doherty, director of the Parks and Recreation department, said about 300 people attended.
“The staff was so excited to see so many people out there,” Doherty said. “I was excited to see people out there. I know the city was excited to see it.”
But the next day, some citizens were confused when the pool was not open. David Garaway, who attended the pool party with his wife and two elementary-aged children, said posted signage did not hint the pool would be closed again the next day.
“We took the kids to the pool Saturday at the opening, and it was a fantastic experience. What a wonderful asset Moncrief Pool is to the community of Starkville,” Garaway said. “… But I’m not sure that Sunday it was clear that there would be a deviation from posted hours.”
The problem is lifeguards, Doherty told The Dispatch, adding hopefully enough will be trained by next week to open the pool — which would be two weeks later than the pool’s originally scheduled “grand reopening” May 27 that had to be postponed.
Two certified lifeguards were on duty for Saturday’s pool party, Doherty said, which he added was a special event not intended to herald the official opening of the pool. To operate its regular hours for summer, he said it takes 12 to 15 to cover all shifts.
Since March, the city has received roughly 60 applications for lifeguards. Only two were certified, Doherty said, and certification training wasn’t available until June. Lifeguards are taking certification tests this week, he said, which should allow the city to fully staff the pool.
The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is paying for the lifeguard training, Doherty said.
Doherty said the pool is shooting for a season opening early next week, but an official date has not been set yet. He said the department has been communicating openings via social media, as well as other news outlets.
Once it opens, pool hours will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, 3-8 p.m. on Monday, and 1-8 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday. Admission for ages 13 and up is $5 per day, while ages 5-12 costs $3 daily. Ages 4 and under swim free.
Season passes are also available for $50 per person, or four-person family season passes are available for $150.
‘Not a one-off’
In May, Doherty told The Dispatch that the city has put in about $100,000 to get the pool area into better shape in the past two years, including repairing and roofing a pool house that had been hit by a car. He said “concentrated” fiberglass repairs that cost less than $5,000 were used to prevent leaking to keep the pool up and running this summer.
More extensive repair work to fix the leakage would require a larger budget, and the parks department’s budget decisions are often based on usage.
In 2022, pool usage was 34 swimmers per day, despite its 80-person capacity. If Saturday’s party is any indicator, however, Moncrief Pool could draw far more swimmers this year.
“We hope to continue to have a full pool,” Doherty said. “…I just hope that what took place last weekend wasn’t a one-off for the summer.”
In a text message to The Dispatch, Mayor Lynn Spruill conveyed her excitement for the pool party’s success.
“I am delighted that the party was such a success,” Spruill said. “We greatly appreciate Sweet Peppers (which provided refreshments) participating with us in making this such a strong showing of support for swimming opportunities. We are hopeful that we will be able to serve the interests of the swimming public going forward with an adequate number of lifeguards for full use of the facility.”
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