St. Cloud Sets Opening Date for Wading Pools

The city of St. Cloud will be opening 3 wading pools again in 2024.  St. Cloud Park and Rec Director Scott Zlotnik joined me on WJON.  He says the plan is a open wading pools at Seberger, Pantown and Rotary Park West next Tuesday, June 11, weather permitting.  The pools will be open during the warm parts of each day from 1 p.m. - 7 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday.  The pools will be closed on Mondays.

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Zlotnik explains there is a still an employment shortage which is playing a role in not opening all the wading pools.  He says the city is budgeting for $167,000 to operate the 3 wading pools this year.  Zlotnik says each life guard employee has certain standards to live up to.  He indicates they prefer to see the Red Cross certification but they also accept a shallow water certification. Zlotnik says these are well trained employees.

The city of St. Cloud has a total of 7 wading pools in the community.  The four wading pools that won't open this summer include Centennial, Hester, Ten-Ten (Spalt), and Haws Park (AKA Southside Park).  Centennial, Ten-Ten and Haws Park are currently transitioning to splash pads.  A decision on the future of Hester park's wading pool hasn't been made yet.

The rainy weather has kept the Park and Rec staff busy.  Zlotnik says they usually like to have each of their parks mowed every 7 to 10 days.  He says it has really been challenging for his staff because the grass is growing so quick due to a rainy start to the summer.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Scott Zlotnik, it is available below.