Newsletter – East Park Pool

June 2025 Newsletter: Safety Update

Dear East Park Pool Members & Friends,

We’re thrilled to see so many families enjoying the pool this season! As our pool community grows busier, we want to ensure that the fun doesn’t come at the expense of safety. A few recent member observations have helped highlight areas where we can do better.

Reports of distracted guarding have been shared with the pool manager. All staff are being reminded of our policies around focus, professionalism, and the importance of remaining alert while on duty.

We’re compiling a clear set of pool rules and staff protocols, including expectations for off-duty conduct and guard rotations. These will be shared with members and posted at the pool soon.

We are exploring a mid-season training session to re-emphasize water safety standards and the importance of guard presence.

We’re grateful to our team of guards for keeping the pool open in a tight labor year—but we also recognize the importance of setting and maintaining high standards. We appreciate your partnership in this effort.

Thanks for supporting East Park Pool!

– East Park Pool Board

Safety Reminder: Large Floaty Toys Only On Fridays

We love seeing kids enjoy their giant inflatables, but we must ask you only being them on Fridays. These toys require extra supervision, and limiting them to designated times ensures our guards can maintain clear sightlines and prioritize swimmer safety.

Welcome New Board Member Phillip Ortega!

We’re excited to welcome Phillip Ortega to the East Park Pool Board! A recent member and longtime Los Alamos resident, Phillip brings over 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience, including his current role as Board Chair of JJAB. He also works with youth as the Director of Faith Development at FUMC Los Alamos. With a strong background in technology and community engagement, Phillip is eager to help us improve operations and support a welcoming pool communuty. Please join us in thanking him for stepping up to serve!

Fourth of July Pool Party

shallow focus photography of firecracker — Photo by Rathnahar Sriom on Pexels.com

Join us at East Park Pool for our Independence Day celebration! We’ll fire up the grill at noon with complimentary burgers and hot dogs—just bring your favorite sides or swap in your own BBQ fare. Dive into pool games, enjoy festive tunes, and soak up summer fun with friends and family. Don’t forget you can purchase additional guest passes for only $5!

Sign Up Now For Swim Lessons July 7-18

East Park Pool members can enroll children in two‐week lessons (July 7–18), weekdays 9 AM–11 AM. Taught by our lifeguards (10:1 student‐to‐guard ratio), these lessons build water familiarity, basic skills, and fun! During classes, pool access is reserved for students only. Cost is $50 per student. Pay by check or via PayPal. Questions? Email instructors@eastparkpool.org.

Looking for something more advanced? Join our swim team! Visit eastparkpool.org/team or email coaches@eastparkpool.org for details.

ID Cards Now Available

If you haven’t picked up your ID card yet, our guard room staff can print or email it to you. Also please make sure your email and emergency contact information is up to date so we can communicate with you when there’s closures, etc.

East Park Pool Opens Tomorrow!

Welcome to the 2025 pool season! We’ve got a few quick updates:

Temporary Hours (May 26–30): Due to our amazing lifeguards finishing their last week of school, we’ll be open Monday–Friday, 4:15 PM to 8:15 PM next week only. Our regular summer schedule begins Friday, May 31. Check eastparkpool.org/calendar for more info.

Swim lessons begin June 1! Spots fill quickly so sign up today at eastparkpool.org/lessons.

Membership IDs remain the same as last year. New members will receive their ID via email this weekend or can pick it up at the pool. Every membership includes 10 guest passes to share with friends and family. Need more? Additional guest passes are available for $5 each. Check eastparkpool.org/memberships for more info.

Host your summer party at the pool! Reserve a pavilion for up to 2 hours and invite up to 30 guests. Book now at eastparkpool.org/reservations. Waivers are required for all guests so have them fill it out in advance at eastparkpool.org/waiver.

Thanks for making it a great summer at East Park Pool. See you in the water!

Reflections on the Past Year and Exciting Plans Ahead

Dear East Park Pool Members,

As we close down another fun-filled season, we want to take a moment to reflect on the past and give you a glimpse of what lies ahead. Although a lot has happened at EPP in the previous several years, an annual newsletter has not been one of them. We thank you for your patience with this aspect of EPP operations as we look forward to keeping our ongoing membership better informed of all that happens to keep EPP alive.

Returning to the EPP Board of Directors for the 2024 season are Brian Tyson (BT) as President, Jessica Hoffer as Vice President, Sarah Waters as Secretary, Sara Pearcy as Membership Chair, James and Alejandra Wernicke as Social Media and Marketing Chair, Bob Darlington as Maintenance Chair and Carl McElhinney as Certified Pool Operator and Life Guard Liaison. Bookkeeping and Treasury are now handled by James A. Dinkel, P.C., CPA.

In 2023, we had approximately 250 family and individual memberships. Your continued support is the backbone of our community pool. We had a blast with all the activities this summer and are already looking forward to next year in the events calendar. A massive shoutout to all members who volunteered their time at work sessions and made improvements. Thank you to the members that attended the annual all-members meeting. Your feedback is appreciated and being addressed, and one of our board goals for the upcoming year is to foster better communication with the members and staff. Your dedication keeps East Park Pool thriving.

Your membership fees were pivotal in completing essential projects over the last few years, including ongoing maintenance of aging infrastructure such as supporting an ever-settling and deteriorating concrete pool deck, diagnosing and fixing sump pump failures and failing drain and plumbing system issues, updating pool deck furniture, incorporating solar heated water to kiddie pool, incorporating a pool pass program, reviving our soda machines, providing computer and printer to guard shack, providing landscaping maintenance and trash hauling services as well as providing the funds required for payroll, internet, utilities etc. Obviously, the work is never done, and we have the kiddie pool drain at the top of our repair list for the upcoming season. Remember, your fees maintain our facilities and support the community. We’re proud to offer employment opportunities to our student lifeguards, ensuring a safe environment for all our members.

This year, we had total expenditures of $102,702 compared to last year’s $103,477. Our revenues for this year were $88,497 compared to 2022’s $106,436. We are committed to keeping membership fees affordable next year despite these fluctuations. This is no small task as minimum wage increases and pool expenses/issues are ever-increasing. We are currently facing a 25% swell in labor costs due to the minimum wage going from $12/hr to $15/hr. We are increasing membership fees by 5% in hopes of beginning to accommodate. We thank you for your understanding in this regard as we strive to keep East Park Pool running safely and facilitate our collective fun.

Our website management experienced quite the wrench in the works this year as our previous manager went MIA, essentially locking us out and handicapping several basic systems such as updating pool information, receiving membership funds through our PayPal account, and utilizing our new pool pass program. But worry not, we’ve created and appointed a new board member chair for social media and technology. This will ensure our website, social media, and systems like card scanners remain updated and functional. If you have suggestions, feedback, or questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at board@eastparkpool.org.

We also experienced some difficulty and complaints concerning our lifeguard services this past season and are working to remedy these issues in the future. Please keep in mind that providing a full-service lifeguard crew is difficult given our very small labor pool and limited time availability with students/employees needing to attend various schools at various times both in starting and ending the swim season as well as coordinating summer travel plans all while juggling ever-changing weather conditions and guard requirements at the pool. As soon as we acquire, train, employ, and enjoy strong/healthy guard management, they quickly move on as they are graduating teenagers moving out of LA and on to their futures, so every season is a new management structure and crew. Our guard crew has always been a strong suit of ours with minimal complaints compared to what we hear happening at other pools, and aside from the usual list of complaints, we enjoy a lot of positive feedback as well concerning our guard crew’s ability and professionalism. We thank all members for their patience, consideration, and criticism in helping us provide a safe and fun environment for both members and employees to enjoy every summer.

Again, thank you for your patience in receiving regular communications from EPP operations. We look forward to providing more regular newsletters and schedules of events such as movie nights, floaty nights, holiday parties, and work parties for all members to participate in and enjoy. Thank you for being a part of the East Park Pool community. We eagerly await the fun times next year has in store for us.

Stay splashing,

The East Park Pool Team