How much are State College-area pool prices going up this summer, and why?
Pool passes for the 2019 summer season at Centre Region pools are on sale now, but prices have increased since last year.
“Primarily it’s to cover the increase in staff costs,” said Todd Roth, the aquatics supervisor at Centre Region Parks and Recreation. “We’ve got about 150 seasonal employees that work at the two pools. In order to stay competitive ... we need to pay them a competitive wage.”
New season pass rates for children ages 3-10 and seniors 65 and over are $75 for residents and $113 for non-residents. The 2018 rates were $70 and $105, respectively.
Regular season pass rates for pool-goers ages 11-64 are $105 for residents — $10 more than the 2018 rate — and $158 for non-residents — $15 more than the 2018 rate.
Resident rates are for anyone who lives in Patton, College, Ferguson or Harris townships or State College Borough.
Park Forest Community Pool in Patton Township and William J. Welch Community Pool in State College open for the season on Saturday, May 25 and will close Monday, Sept. 2. The two pools see about 100,000-120,000 visitors each season, said Roth.
With better-paid staff, Roth said, CRPR hopes to run smoothly over the season.
“This past summer we had to close the pools a number of times because of staff shortages,” he said. “Our hope is that by paying a more competitive wage ... we can be fully operational over the summer.”
He estimated that staff shortages caused disruption to pool hours at least a dozen times over the 2018 summer season.
For those who can’t afford the current pool prices, CRPR offers youth scholarships. Those scholarships are awarded based on Pennsylvania state and federal income guideline and provide a 50 percent reduction in each pool membership.
Daily pool rates are also increasing, going up to $8 (ages 3-10 and 65 and over) and $10 (ages 11-64) for residents and $10 (ages 3-10 and 65 and over) and $12 (ages 11-64) for non-residents.
One thing that will stay the same, said Roth, is the after-5 p.m. admission prices — $5 for residents 3 and up and $7 for non-residents 4 and up.
This story was originally published December 17, 2018 at 4:08 PM.
.jpg)