Pool sees uptick in attendance in 2024

The Red Oak Municipal Pool had another successful season.
The pool’s regular season ended after Labor Day. Pool manager Georgana Derr said this season started off much better than those in years past, as the pool was fully-staffed this time around.
“It was so nice. I had two assistant managers, I had 27 lifeguards, and I had eight pool attendants. Not only were we fully staffed at the beginning of the season, I also was able to keep everyone. No one quit,” advised Derr. “I actually had more applicants after we were fully-staffed. I could have had five more lifeguards and double the amount of pool attendants, but I just didn’t have space for them.”
Another benefit was that the entire staff this season was made up of local people.
“I didn’t get any applicants from Shenandoah. I thought I might get some kids from Shenandoah since their pool didn’t open, but they were all from here. Melanie Rohrig, one of my assistant managers, did a really great job. She’s a teacher with the Red Oak District, and she did a really great job helping me recruit this year. I think that was a big part of it,” commented Derr.
Also, Derr said many of the faces that were present at the pool this season are likely to return next year.
“I am going to speculate that I’ll be able to retain at least 75% of the staff I had this season. A lot of them are still in high school, and I had a few that were college age, and even they said they were interested in returning. I’m hoping those that need to get recertified will do so,” said Derr. “If they do, it will be up to them. We pay the initial certification as of right now, and they have to recertify every two years.”
While the pool had a successful season overall, Derr said they did have a few issues right at the beginning.
“We opened June 13, which is 13 days later than I wanted. That was due to pump issues, and the fact that we had the tornado go through. A lot of the guys that were planning to work on the pool ended up having to work on tornado damage issues. We weren’t the only ones that were open late,” stated Derr.
The pool’s season lasted for 66 days, and there were 8,515 people that visited the pool, which was under what Derr wanted.
“My goal was for us to have an attendance of 10,000. I really think we could have made it had we been able to open on time. Opening late was a real bummer. The second thing was that the weather was unseasonably cold in August. I think Aug. 1 it was only 65 degrees. The weather really did not help us towards the end of the season. I don’t recall having that type of chilly weather in the past, and we’re crossing our fingers that we won’t have it next year.”
Still, even on the unseasonably chilly days, it was still mostly open.
“We were only closed for three days, and that was because it was very cold and rainy those three days. So when it was cool, we’d adjust staff and we still had patrons, it just wasn’t the huge numbers that we had on the hot days.
This summer’s 8,515 attendance was the second highest reported at the pool since 2021. The post COVID year of 2021 saw 9,223, while in 2022 there were 6,038, and 7346 in 2023. Derr felt there were several factors that boosted attendance again after two years of dropping numbers.
“I really believe the social media presence was very helpful. I posted every single day that we were open, what our hours were, and what was going on. I also noticed an uptick in people from Shenandoah, due to their pool being closed this summer, as well as Griswold, Atlantic, and even Omaha. People that were visiting family here.”
This summer, Derr said there was one particular family that stood out for being from so far away.
“I had a family from Denmark visit. They were in town visiting family around here and they came to our pool. They really enjoyed it,” said Derr.
While RAGBRAI did bring some additional attendance, the majority was from area residents.
“RAGBRAI only brought in around 500 visits. We were busy, but not overwhelmingly so, because the weather was nice and it wasn’t blazing hot. That number is probably double what we would do on a hot day. Also, that number does not include the people that just came to use the shower, only those that actually used the pool,” explained Derr.
This year, the pool did some new partnerships that Derr said were quite successful for the pool.
“We partnered with Montgomery County Conservation and Critter Cass. We did some stand up paddleboard yoga programs that went very well. Instructor Donna Wade did an aqua zoomba class three days a week, and was well attended. I definitely want to continue that next year. It’s something people clearly want. We also did lap swimming this summer. It was reintroduced this year. We need to get the word out a bit better that we’re doing it to boost attendance,” advised Derr.
Derr added she felt that there was one final piece of the puzzle that the pool needed.
“We need to do group lessons next year. I’d like to work on being a Red Cross certified facility for that. I believe it was offered in the past, and I think it’s important for our youth. I’d like to have classes in the morning and the evening. That’s the next thing I’d like to do this year. We did a lot of private lessons, but now I’d like some group lessons,” Derr stated.
As much of the staff was new, Derr said a lot of training was involved, and she’s hopeful she can retain those that were trained.
“We have the support of the park and tree board, and last year was good, but this year was better. We’re moving on from surviving into thriving, especially being fully-staffed. I didn’t have to guard as much which freed me up to do more things,” Derr commented. “We are still under where we need to be salary–wise. We have some catching up to do compared to surrounding communities.  We’ll probably need another pay increase.”
Towards the end of the season, there were some doubts about the pool remaining open due to an air bubble in the pool liner. Thankfully, it didn’t end up being a problem.
“It was in a place where not a lot of people were on. It wasn’t on the floor of the pool, it was on the wall. We kept people away, and so the liner will be fixed over the winter, and the mats under the slides from the constant water running causing them to become loose. These things were not unexpected. But had the bubble been in a different place, we may have had to close the pool to prevent it from becoming worse.”
Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, although there are still discussions about pricing.
“The park and tree board is open to looking at the surrounding areas and fine tuning our prices, maybe bringing the family pass back and determining a price. I have information from five areas around us, so we’ll examine and find out where we should be. Compared to everyone else, we were pretty cheap,” Derr said.
Derr also said it’s never too early to start planning to be a lifeguard next season.
“The YMCA offers classes, so I would recommend they watch the website and Facebook to get into those classes. They don’t have to take it here. I had some guards take classes in Omaha, Atlantic, and Creston, because our classes filled up. We’d also love to have some adults as well so we can diversify our ages,” commented Derr.
The final event of the season is the “Doggie Dip” Sept. 15 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
“It’s a free-will donation. All proceeds go to Animal Alliance. The dogs must have their appropriate shots, and they must be leashed as well,” Derr advised.
Derr said she’s very excited for next year, and very sad that it’s so far away.
“I was thankful that Montgomery County Memorial Hospital supplied sun block all summer. A lot of kids and families utilized that. I was excited for this year’s partnerships, and I’m hopeful next year we can partner again, and have even more programming. We also partnered with the Montgomery County Family YMCA, and their summer camp kids came over the summer. I have some more ideas to grow on next summer.”
Also, Derr said she’s hopeful that they will be able to be open on time next season.