Lancaster County is raising the price of passes to the Lancaster County Swimming Pool in Central Park by around 10%.
The increases are needed to cover cost increases, Deputy Director of General Services Carmen Simone told the county commissioners, who approved the increases on Wednesday. The cost of chlorine, for example, is up 54%, he said.
Even with the increases, the admission fees are the second lowest in the county, Program Manager Tammy Agesen said. The only pool with lower ones is the city-owned Conestoga Pines Pool, she said, and it’s much smaller and shallower.
Daily admission fees remain unchanged at $9 per person.
Officials are planning to open the pool on Memorial Day weekend and operate on a full regular schedule this season, which would be the first time that has happened since 2019.
In 2020 the pool remained closed due to the pandemic. It operated on a three-day-a-week schedule in 2021 and in 2022 it opened about a month late and initially operated on a limited schedule due to a lifeguard shortage.
That shortage was alleviated thanks to partnerships with YMCA of the Roses, the School District of Lancaster, Lancaster Country Day School and other organizations, forged after the county appealed to the community for assistance. Those partnerships have been maintained, and with their help the county is “leaps and bounds ahead of last year” on recruitment, Agesen said.
