On June 15th, the City Council decided with a 6-1 vote to close the pool for the 2020 summer season. We believe that the City Council made the wrong decision on Monday night. The pool is a key asset to the community of Winona because it provides a safe place for the youth. Without the opening of the pool this summer, it will force families to seek other methods of getting in the water. In order for the pool to reopen we need to show the City Council and Chad Ubl that we care about the risks within reopening the pool, and we need to show them that we are willing to use the facility. It is our belief we should reopen not to only make the community happy, but to teach the youth how to be safe around water. I hope that you will support the lifeguard team and the general public by allowing the Bob Welch Aquatic Center to open for the summer of 2020. While this is not a perfect solution, doing nothing amid the current environment is the wrong choice. Please allow us to take responsibility and prove to the city that this can work.

-Bob Welch Aquatic Center Seasonal Staff

Staff Member responses

From Jon: Personally, I am a part of the lifeguard team, swim team, and someone who frequents the pool. Since families will be going to the local beaches or on the river to seek swimming, there will be a lack of supervision for the youth which may cause more tragedies. This is a potential safety issue, and it is the Council’s duty to keep the public safe. I don’t think that it is a good idea for the youth to have to miss a summer of swimming lessons because we border the river. Also, with people gathering at the beaches there will be a lack of social distancing which may lead to an eruption of COVID-19 cases. However, at the pool, chlorine kills COVID-19 diminishing the chances of an outbreak. There is also a plan in place to have staff members remind patrons at the pool to socially distance themselves from other non-family members. If the pool was to reopen for the summer, it would also help fill some unemployment holes with seasonal work. Without the pool, some parents will drop their son/daughter off at unsupervised areas leading to a higher chance of potential incidents involving the children of our community.

From Anna: I honestly think it should be open because it’s the safest place for people to swim. With the Winona pool, closed people are going to flock to the beaches and there will most likely be a rise in drownings since people aren’t used to swimming in the river.

From Moriah: I understand the concerns of the city council, but I disagree with their conclusions. We as lifeguards are trained by Ali Mayer to handle all these types of scenarios, and I think the council underestimates what we are capable of handling. In conjunction with that, I think the pool is an important place for kids to go, and sometimes it is one of their only ways to escape from their home. Likewise, I agree with Anna that there will be an increase in drownings because there isn’t a safe place to swim, and it will be warmer this summer which will drive people to rivers and lakes which have no lifeguards. People don’t necessarily know where it is safe to swim.

From Paul: I believe that we can make opening the pool work. The Bob Welch Aquatic Center is equipped with plenty of space, rescue tools, and staff to make an opening for the summer of 2020 possible. The City Council should not think that having older teenagers as lifeguards during the COVID-19 pandemic is any different than normal when it comes to risk. Guards have the same chance at picking up a bloodborne pathogen or an STI as COVID-19. If there is an argument for equity there are plenty of places to subsidize from. If the demographic of Winona needs our programs to have a free or reduced-price instead of saying zero programs let's propose new programs that meet the guidelines set by the City of Winona, the State of Minnesota, and the CDC. I believe that we can think of new programs that fit the needs of the Demographic of Winona as City Council member, Paul Schollmeier, said during the meeting “We need to be more creative.” Open Swim has a few uncontrollable variables but if we look at only offering programs and make them accessible to everyone then we can control our opening as well as the day to day operations. Winona is surrounded by lakes and the Mississippi River runs right along with our town. Latsch beach has been packed because of the humidity and hot weather lately, presenting a tremendous risk for an outbreak of COVID-19. Taking the option away from residents to choose between a safe location and an uncontrolled beach goes against the reasons for the building of the Bob Welch Aquatic Center. I strongly encourage rethinking the idea to close the Aquatic Center for the Summer of 2020 for the safety of Winona residents. I'd like to leave this message with a quote from the American Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety Manual "Yet, while water can be a source of relaxation and enjoyment, it also presents a risk for drowning, a person can drown in less than 1 inch of water. Each year, young children tragically die because parents and caregivers fail to recognize or notice the danger posed by bathtubs, toilets, kiddie pools, ditches, and even 5-gallon buckets of water."

From Dani: I believe that the pool has a strong enough plan to open for the Summer of 2020. As a group of lifeguards, we have come up with more ideas to add to the plan if they are necessary. I believe that we can make up lost money through other programs. There are plenty of grants and other funds that would allow us to make up the lost money. There is money from the Cares Act relief fund that we could use. The relief fund gave Minnesota a little under $1.1 billion. Although the state has to split that money between different counties, I believe if we get .05% of the possible money we could use some of it toward the pool. The pool was made for the community to have a safe location to swim. Taking away the pool for the summer contradicts even building the pool. I believe that Ali is creative enough to solve any situation presented in a friendly and calm manner. Closing the pool for summer doesn’t protect our community, it endangers us.

From Jack: Improved fitness is a goal that most will pursue throughout their lifetime, utilizing many different means, from pools to weight rooms, to attain that goal. In the current absence of the Bob Welch Aquatic Center (BWAC), coupled with the continued closure of other facilities, many have been left with even fewer methods to maintain fitness. The BWAC presents a method for fitness and workouts for all ages. When open, the Bob Welch Aquatic Center allows children to take swim lessons, enables older kids to join a swim club, adults can lap swim in the lanes, and elderly individuals can either lap swim or partake in the water aerobics class regularly offered in the morning. By closing the BWAC for the summer, the city has taken away a vital opportunity for members of the community to stay healthy and in good shape. Additionally, it is common knowledge that exercise releases chemicals in the brain that greatly enhance and improve one’s mood and mental health. For many, their primary source of physical activity has been stripped away, especially since other pools in town are not as user-friendly as the BWAC. Pools, especially the Bob Welch Aquatic Center, create safe spaces for individuals to become comfortable around water while also improving mental health and physical well-being. Please consider this when discussing the fate of the Bob Welch Aquatic Center for the summer of 2020.