The background
City Council on Feb. 21 considered amending an ordinance to relax the wristband requirement for pool users ahead of the town’s 2024 swim season.
Council members initially discussed the issue at their Jan. 16 meeting, responding to complaints from some residents who voiced a desire not to always wear their wristband while inside a fenced area surrounding the swimming pool.
According to city rules, a pool season pass purchased at City Hall comes with a wristband, which each pass-holder must visibly wear at all times around the pool.
However, local officials acknowledged that some pool visitors either briefly display their wristband to a pool security guard or that some pool users—especially children—tend to lose their wristband in the pool area.
Dig deeper
In the Feb. 16 meeting, city leaders said they did not totally mind the idea of easing the wristband requirement, but council members such as Glenna Pearce voiced concern that relaxing the rule may lead to a situation that prompted town officials to impose the wristband rule to begin with.
“Isn’t that going to welcome the concept of overcrowding, create a sense of people getting a wristband and then passing it through a gate to someone else on the outside, and then we have five or six people who have the same wristband?” Pearce said.
Public Works Director Kelly Cowan said if the city were to temper the wristband rule, pool visitors would still be asked to use a sign-in log upon arrival at the pool, and that guards could still distinguish between regular visitors who reliably own and wear a wristband and those who may not care for the rule altogether.
After further discussion, council member Todd Kounse moved to approve amending the pool policy ordinance and relax the wristband rule. However, no council members seconded the motion, which then died in parliamentary procedure.
With no other motion coming from council members, council moved onto other city business. Pool visitors will still be required to wear their purchased wristband, City Secretary Patrick Aten said.
