Category: Announcements

Announcements

We Are Officially Open (Tomorrow)! 🥳

We passed our inspection, folks! (Now if you’ll excuse us, we never want to do underwater electrical work or any type of plumbing again. Please somebody else volunteer for the board!)

Getting our ducks in a row

We have hot showers, but our lift station to clear the drains is still janky. We did figure out how to manually switch it on, but we’d really appreciate it if you please limit your showers, so we’re not constantly making trips down into the lift station. It’s a scary place.

This is where we send children who don’t listen to lifeguards.

We’re still trying to figure out how to access the voicemail so if you’ve been leaving us messages, please bear with us (or just email us). Tomorrow, the phone will be attended.

We’ve also been slacking on getting membership cards sent out, confirming reservations, nagging people to pay their dues, and whatever else people have been emailing us about, so if you’re in one of these groups, expect some emails from us tonight or tomorrow. You can also take care of things in person at the pool.

We expect the pool to be busy for lane swimming, and you might notice we’re adding lane reservations to the calendar. We hope this helps avoid any surprises.

Also, join us for hot dogs tomorrow afternoon! So glad to finally be open! 🥰🏊

This might be our last year, folks. The waterworks are more epoxy than pipe at this point. Our Hail Mary play was supposed to be partnering with the County this year, but it didn’t work out. We really appreciate all the support our members have shown us. We also appreciate the aquatic and youth clubs that are partnering with us as well. We’re doing before/after-hours private rentals this year, so if you need a sweet venue for your community or corporate party, all the details are on our Reservations page.

Even if this is our last year, we aren’t throwing in the towel. We’ll go out with a bang if it comes to that. (Hopefully, not in the pump room.) If you have any ideas for keeping this 60-year-old Los Alamos community institution going, let us know.

26.05 Pool Opening Delayed Until At Least June 3 😔

Dear Members,

Unfortunately, although we addressed the items identified during our inspection, the New Mexico Environment Department is unable to return for a re-inspection until June 2. Because state approval is required before we can open, the earliest possible opening date is now Wednesday, June 3.

This has been frustrating for us as well, especially since we pay inspection fees each time they come out and some of the issues cited were things we have observed at other pools in even worse condition. We asked whether photographs of the completed fixes could be accepted so that we could open sooner, but they informed us that an in-person re-inspection is required.

We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while we work through the state approval process. We will continue preparing the facility so we are ready to open as soon as we receive clearance.

Thanks for supporting East Park Pool.

The slide has to be relocated because the water is 6″ too shallow.
Unbolting the slide was no easy task. Setting anchors in the new location won’t be, either.
Wood shims for this railing weren’t acceptable.
New brass shims installed

26.05 Pool Opening Delayed 😭

Greetings Members & Friends,

Unfortunately, we had a particularly meticulous inspector on Thursday. We are unable to address all the issues they found before this weekend. Even though the pool is otherwise ready to go and these issues haven’t caused a problem in all the years we’ve been open, we could get into serious trouble if we open without a passing inspection. The pool board has decided not to take that risk and delay opening until next weekend at the earliest.

We are really sorry, folks. We’re doing the best we can.

If you think we should take the risk and open anyway, then maybe YOU should consider joining the board! There’s no pay, long hours, and hard labor. But when you see folks enjoying themselves in the pool, it makes it worth it. And who knows? Maybe you’ve got better ideas than us. If you’re interested, please send an email to board@eastparkpool.org.

New Reservation System

We’ve had several requests from the community regarding swim lane reservations and private rentals. To help maintain fair access, we’re asking members to reserve swim lanes. We hope it will help members coordinate use. You can also request recurring reservations, but please commit to those reservations since they can exclude other swimmers from using the facility. Reservations will be displayed on our calendar so you can know in advance how busy it will be. Reservations will be reviewed and confirmed by staff so it may take up to 24 hours before they are published on the calendar. If there are any issues with your reservation, staff will contact you.

Is the pool open?

We are also working on providing webcam snapshots and better status updates to allow members to see the current status of the pool, e.g. lightning closures.

Thanks for supporting East Park Pool.

26.05 One Week Until Opening Day

We are just one week away from opening day and working hard to get East Park Pool ready for another summer.

What It Costs to Run a Community Pool

This year, memberships are slightly ahead of last year, which is good news. At the same time, last year’s budget was balanced only because we had savings to dip into. We do not have that cushion this year, which means we need to control costs carefully while also growing memberships, donations, rentals, and volunteer support.

Maintaining a community asset like East Park Pool that has served generations of Los Alamos families isn’t easy. That history comes with upkeep costs for pumps, plumbing, plaster, lights, fencing, furniture, deck areas, and the pool house.

Each summer, the pool has to cover major operating costs before a single swimmer gets in the water, including chemicals, water, electricity, insurance, inspections, payroll taxes, property taxes, repairs, and routine maintenance.

Unlike many nonprofits, we do not receive grants to cover any of these costs. East Park Pool depends entirely on memberships, donations, rentals, and volunteer support.

When you buy a membership, volunteer, donate, rent the pool, take a class, or invite another family to join, you are helping keep East Park Pool open for this season and the next generation.

Underwater Lights and Extended Hours

The underwater lights have been resealed and upgraded with LEDs, which should allow us to stay open later this summer. We hope expanded evening hours will give more members time to swim while also reducing crowding. Stay tuned for updated hours.

Swimmer-to-Guard Ratios and Pool Safety

Because we have only so many guards available, and only so much ability to pay them, longer hours may require us to spread staffing more thinly than in the past.

For that reason, we will be less tolerant this summer of unsafe or disruptive behavior that creates avoidable risk, distracts guards, or requires repeated correction. Members, parents, and guests are expected to follow posted rules, respond promptly to guard instructions, and help keep the pool safe for everyone.

Swimmers who repeatedly ignore safety rules may be asked to sit out, leave the pool for the day, or, in serious cases, lose pool privileges.

We want East Park Pool to be fun, relaxed, and welcoming, but also safe, affordable, and open as much as possible with the staff we have.

Interpool Meet 1995
Interpool Meet 1995

How You Can Help This Week

With opening day just one week away, the best ways to help are to renew or buy your membership and invite other families to join.

East Park Pool has been here since 1962 because generations of families chose to support it. This summer will depend on the same thing. Thank you a million times for supporting East Park Pool.

26.05 Pool Lighting Update

Greetings EPP Members,

We’re working hard to repair the pool lighting so we can be open later in the evening this year. We hope this will help meet the need for all the displaced aquatic center users.

The bronze fixtures are in surprisingly good shape after more than 60 seasons submerged in chlorinated water. The seals degraded long ago, and many of the bolts have rusted in place, but we were able to break most of them free with a little penetrating oil, a hammer drill, and some elbow grease. We’ll have to use a bolt extractor to get those last stubborn bolts that disintegrated on us, though. We ordered new silicone seals that fit perfectly. We were worried that they might’ve changed in 60 years, but apparently it’s a good standard. We also ordered new super bright LED lights and high quality 316 stainless steel bolts that should outlast the pool. Those should be here on Tuesday.

Thanks to everyone who has showed up for the work parties. We have one more work party next Saturday, May 16 9am – 12pm. We hope to have the lighting finished by the middle of next week so we can fill the pool. Opening Day is just two weeks away!

Our membership numbers are trending lower than last year so if you’ve been on the fence about membership, we’d really like you to sign up!

Thanks for supporting East Park Pool!

East Park Pool Opens Memorial Day Weekend

East Park Pool is preparing to open for the season on Memorial Day weekend—a community tradition every summer since 1962.

Memberships are now available at https://eastparkpool.org/memberships.

East Park relies entirely on voluntary community support to operate each summer. Members enjoy unlimited access to swimming, guest passes and a welcoming space to gather with friends and family, and member appreciation events all summer long. Members also have access to party rentals and swim lessons throughout the season for a nominal fee.

To get ready for opening day, we need volunteers every Saturday in May from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Your help is essential to prepare the facility for a safe and successful season.

Help keep this long-standing community resource thriving.

All-Member Meeting This Thursday

Greetings Members!

There will be an all-member meeting this Thursday at 6:30 on Google Meet. Agenda includes:

  • Presentation of the end-of-year report
  • Election of officers for next year
  • Discussion and possible vote on a bylaw amendment to formally authorize the board to urgent executive decisions like pool maintenance
  • Brainstorming ideas to improve the pool for next season

Please consider putting your name in the hat for a board position with a sentence or two about what you’d like to accomplish. Positions include:

  • President
  • Vice president
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • Membership chair
  • Facilities chair
  • Programming chair
  • Publicity chair

If there’s another role you think should be on there, let us know.

All-Member Meeting
Thursday, Oct 30 • 18:30 – 19:30
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/fna-cctt-bkm

School Starts August 11 – Weekday Hours Change to 4:15–7:00 PM

Greetings East Park Pool members,

With most of our guards returning to school on Monday, August 11, weekday pool hours will shift to 4:15 PM–7:00 PM. Weekend hours remain unchanged at 9:00 AM–7:00 PM.

We want to thank you for making this season one of our most successful in recent memory. Your feedback has been invaluable in guiding improvements to our facility and service. Over the past year, we’ve invested in much-needed maintenance for our pump room, boiler, and lift station, and it has paid off with only one infrastructure-related closure this season. (Knock on wood!)

Weather continues to be our biggest challenge. While we appreciate the moisture, we know how much of a bummer it is when lightning disrupts pool time. Deciding whether to send guards home early or keep them on standby is always tricky. This year, we introduced a new policy to balance staffing needs with the ability to reopen quickly if the weather clears. We also now track closures on the calendar so you can check before you come if we’re open. You can read about it along with all our closure-related policies at https://eastparkpool.org/calendar.

We also heard concerns about party reservation confirmations. Staff have been reminded to check reservations promptly and send confirmation emails to ensure members know their bookings are secure.

Finally, we’re exploring ways to make the pool even more fun. On a recent trip to Ouray Hot Springs and Soldier’s Pool in Rochester, MN, my family had a blast on their poolside climbing walls. With our active climbing community, maybe this could be a future addition for East Park Pool? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Thank you for being part of the East Park Pool community and for your continued support!

—The East Park Pool Board