KAILUA-KONA — The Kona Community Aquatic Center is a victim of its own success. ADVERTISING KAILUA-KONA — The Kona Community Aquatic Center is a victim of its own success. Hawaii County officials offered more details on why the public pool
KAILUA-KONA — The Kona Community Aquatic Center is a victim of its own success.
Hawaii County officials offered more details on why the public pool has been closing earlier and more frequently recently.
It’s because it’s popular — really, really popular — and that takes a toll.
“It requires extra care, extra attention,” County Parks and Recreation Director Charmaine Kamaka said.
It’s the top-used county pool by a wide margin. From July of 2015 to June ‘16, 317,521 people used the free downtown swimming spot. Second highest of the county’s nine public pools was Kawamoto Swim Stadium in Hilo with 217,142 users. Third place belonged to Pahoa at 152,123.
Kamaka, along with deputy director Ryan Chong, rec administrator Mason Souza, and Alejandra Flores-Morikami, recreation specialist, said the pool requires more cleaning and maintenance because of the heavy use. Kona’s hot sun also plays a part on chlorine levels, which requires more monitoring. The pool is also the only one of the nine facilities that shares its bathroom with a gym, so bathroom maintenance is often double the requirement of the others.
That said, the long-term outlook of the pool is “pristine,” Chong said, adding that a $97,000 new sand filtration upgrade was recently completed.
“It’s perfect,” Chong said.
Two other pools had maintenance projects during the budgeted year, both of which were $30,000.
Some pool users have been frustrated with dwindling hours and an article Tuesday expressed their concerns. Due to a one-and-a-half position staffing shortage, the pool closes at 6:30 p.m. rather than 7 p.m., which has cut into evening classes. More full day closures for maintenance have been happening as well. On Tuesday the pool closed at 1:45 p.m. for the day.
“It should be open everyday,” one swimmer said, shaking her head, after reading the sign on the locked door.
Lisa Parsell is a swimmer who has adjusted her swim schedule around the time changes, but sometimes she misses word of extra closures and has shown up to a locked gate as well.
“It’s difficult,” she said Wednesday. “I would even pay a fee, along with everyone else, if it would mean keep the pool open and in the winter use the heater, that would be nice.”
Parks and rec plans to fill the empty positions — custodian and lifeguard — and resume closing at 7 p.m.
As it is now, officials said, it’s still the highest staffed pool at 10 positions. Kawamoto, the second highest used by volume, has six. It’s also the only pool that opens at 6:15 a.m. Kawamoto and Pahoa open at 9 a.m.
Kailua-Kona’s growing population, weather and triathlete community are all likely factors in the volume of traffic, officials said. They noticed the need for extra maintenance around 2012, and will continue to pay close attention to the pool’s upkeep.
“We appreciate their patience and understanding,” Kamaka said. “Our goal is to serve the community and we really try and do that.”
