The Park and Recreation Board received an update on aquatics operations March 20, with staff reporting plans for the 2025 season, progress on recruitment, and changes to service schedules at several community pools.

Raul Robles of the Park and Recreation Department summarized 2024 attendance and revenue trends and outlined operational plans for 2025. Staff reported substantial recruitment activity: hundreds of applicants have been processed, with roughly 500 offers extended and hiring continuing. Robles and board members said retention from prior seasons is about 60 percent.

Key operational items
- Opening schedule: Memorial Day weekend openings were confirmed, with Bahama Beach scheduled to open May 25, 2025; pools and waterparks will generally operate through Labor Day with some family aquatic centers on an extended schedule.
- Community pools: Several community pools that were closed in 2024 are scheduled to reopen in 2025, but at limited hours (board discussion noted three community pools would operate on a reduced, three-day-per-week schedule). Staff emphasized that reduced hours reflect both budget constraints and staff availability.
- Staffing: Staff reported a substantial recruitment push, including job fairs and outreach to city employees' networks. Robles said the department aims to reach roughly 400–450 seasonal staff to fully operate pools; the department has already made many offers and continues training.
- Attendance and revenue: Board members noted attendance dipped in 2024, a decline staff attributed largely to the temporary closure of several facilities; with reopened sites and Bahama Beach operations, staff and board expressed cautious optimism about increased 2025 attendance and revenue.

Board members praised aquatics staff for recruitment and for preserving neighborhood pools where possible. Several board members urged continued focus on staffing and maintenance funding to keep neighborhood pools open long-term and noted the department is updating the 2015 aquatics master plan with a focused modification to inform capital planning and potential bond timing.

Quote from the meeting
"Kudos to Rob and the aquatics team — recruitment and retention work has made a big difference," a board member said.

Next steps
Staff will continue recruitment and training through spring and present additional details about schedules, staffing numbers and operations to the board before the Memorial Day opening window.