HELENA — On June 21, the Last Chance Pool and Waterpark will re-open for the season. Last year, the waterpark was shut down and capacity limits were decreased as part of the city of Helena's coronavirus mitigation program, this year the city is moving forward with fewer restrictions.
“This year, we're able to open the water park, which is really exciting, and evening lessons are coming back because we don't have to worry about such an intense capacity limit," said the city's recreation program manager Kait Perrodin. "We can offer swimming lessons during our recreation time and still accommodate everyone.”
Perrodin said right now the main lap pool and the diving area are set and ready to go, but there are still a few more things to take care of, like training staff, before the pool opens later this month.
“For the next several weeks, it will every day, be in the pool training somebody so that we can open and be safe and certified and qualified,” said Perrodin
On June 3, MTN reported that the Townsend City Council voted to not open their pool this season, citing staff shortages. Perrodin said this year staffing at the pool is short by a marginal amount, but patrons won’t see any changes to their experience.
"We did hustle and advertise and reach out to every single person, place, group that I could think of," said Perrodin. "We are not looking so bad on our numbers. We have about 35 lifeguards right now, we might get a few more applicants. We generally operate with around 40 but we'll still be able to open and hold our programs and everything.
Hours and schedules for the Last Chance Pool and Waterpark can be found by clicking here.
