It has been almost four years since the general public cooled off in the water of the Tallassee City Pool.
It all changes June 5 as the Tallassee Parks and Recreation Department has planned open swim hours for the general public this summer.
“It has not been available for open swims since 2019, prior to COVID,” Tallassee Parks and Recreation director Megan Miller said. “I hope everyone who has been talking about it shows up.”
Between the COVID-19 pandemic and leaks, only the TigerSharks swim team has been swimming.
Since summer 2019 the pool has been resealed and repainted twice. Employees from parks and recreation and other city employees have spent the last few weeks preparing for the open swims. Locker rooms with curtained areas for changing are available as well.
“We have been doing all this work,” Miller said. “I really hope they come to use it. It was a task. It took us all week. We have been pressure washing the concrete around it. We reprinted all new signs with pool rules and safety notes.”
Open swims are scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays.
Swim lessons are available in three sessions June 5-16, June 19-29 and July 10-21. Miller said children as young as 4 can take the lessons and all skill levels are welcomed.
“The first class we assess who is afraid of the water and who is not,” Miller said. “We will break them into groups. We will have some lifeguards working with the ones not comfortable with the water and next door lifeguards will be teaching them how to swim.”
The cost for open swims is $3 for children and $5 for adults. Miller said all swimmers are required to wear an appropriate swimsuit.
“It can’t be cut off jeans and T-shirt,” she said.
Miller said all of the lifeguards are Red Cross certified and some are Tiger Sharks themselves.
“We have five lifeguards this summer,” Miller said. “Four out of five are on the swim team.”
Water aerobics will also be held at 5 p.m. on Thursdays. It is $5 per class and free for those with memberships to the department’s gym.
But the pool isn’t the only thing the Tallassee Parks and Recreation Department has this summer. Miller said many youth come to the rec department on Gilmer Avenue.
“There are lots of middle school kids who come in here to play basketball,” Miller said. “They walk up from the area neighborhoods.”
Miller said children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Recreation center hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Fridays.
June begins registration for co-ed softball, which will begin its games in July.
“All of the fields are being used for all-stars between practices and some games,” Miller said. “We have a 6U Boys All Star team. We have never done that before. They will have some summer tournaments.”
July begins registration for Happy Feet soccer for 2 and 3 year olds. Children will come to the recreation department gym on Mondays in August.
“We had 26 slots available last year and it sold out in two days,” Miller said. “It was chaos but it was fun with all the little kids running around with soccer balls.”
For more information about Tallassee’s parks and rec programs, call 334-283-4726.
