Because of cooler temperatures and rain, pool attendance has taken a dive

It was a scene unbefitting a public pool in July.

By midafternoon Saturday at Splash Cove, Shawnee’s outdoor aquatics center, sunshine was nowhere to be found, a light rain had begun falling and manager Connor Rockrohr stood mostly idle at the front desk as an occasional patron trickled in.

“I heard that it was supposed to be hot today,” he mused.

Unfortunately for public pools in the area, days like Saturday have become commonplace this summer. Despite torrid days like Friday, the Kansas City area has mainly seen cooler temperatures and above-average rainfall, with a corresponding decline in pool attendance.

Lee’s Summit and Shawnee have reported drops in the range of 10 percent so far, while Overland Park, which operates six outdoor pools, had drawn just 59,538 patrons through July 19 — down roughly 40,000 from last year’s total at this time.

Those looking to assess blame should look no further than Mother Nature.

Consider that through Friday, Kansas City was experiencing its sixth-coolest July in history, according to the National Weather Service.

In June, meanwhile, precipitation was the issue as the metro’s 6.91 inches of rain represented a 1.6-inch bump from the monthly average and some areas to the south saw even more. Pleasant Hill, for instance, where the National Weather Service is located, saw nearly 4 inches more than usual in the month of June.

All of it has added up to headaches for many local parks departments.

Pools have rescheduled swimming lessons due to chilly conditions, pushed back opening times to work around the weather and sent lifeguards home early on days when sagging attendance didn’t necessitate a full lifeguard staff.

“Most of the municipalities that we work with have some kind of policy related to attendance,” said Eden Dowler, vice president for Midwest Pool Management, which operates pools in Kansas City, Independence, Grain Valley and Warrensburg, among others. “Because it’s just not effective to have 20 lifeguards there if you’ve got four people in the pool.

“Most places will have some kind of a policy, and there have been several times this year that that policy has been enforced, and we’ve closed down the facilities or some of the areas inside the facilities.”

On a larger scale, the attendance drop-off likely will leave some cities bracing for the financial effect.

The significance of that effect, though, largely depends on the municipality.

For many cities, a dip in attendance isn’t cause for major concern. Even in good years, many pools aren’t expected to produce revenues that cover all costs of operation. When the pools come up short, the city makes up the difference.

“From a general operating standpoint of the general city, the more we can recover, the more goes back to the general fund,” said Bryan Toben, assistant director of recreation services with the city of Overland Park. “But I don’t see us being so short that there’s a general panic. Obviously, the more you make, the better. But this is not a business for profit.”

For some, though, a lack of revenue can be more worrisome.

Trouble surfaced early this summer in Lee’s Summit.

“Memorial Day weekend, that Saturday, we ended up closed that entire day because of cool and wet weather,” said David Dean, superintendent of recreation services for Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation.

“June 6 to 12, that whole stretch, it never broke 80 degrees. And even after that, in June when we did warm up a little bit into the 80s, we had a number of days where we were impacted by thunderstorms.”

In all, he said, the pool was affected by weather nine days in the month of June.

Unlike many other municipalities, however, Lee’s Summit generates all of its operating revenue from user fees. Which means it is expected to recover 100 percent of its costs.

When it doesn’t, other parks ventures — the construction of a new playground or shelter, for instance — might go undone.

“We’ll see how it shakes out,” Dean said. “But if we have a summer where the weather really (doesn’t cooperate), that lessens our ability to generate the revenue to put back in the facility in future seasons.”

If the scene Saturday at Splash Cove is any indication, there is reason for concern.

As a cool breeze blew, kids wrapped themselves tightly in towels. Overcast skies threatened yet more precipitation, and Trisha Hengler, who was there with husband Kevin and 3-year-old Crosby, discussed the toll this summer’s fickle weather had taken on the family’s swimming season.

At one point during the conversation, she stopped, pointing to her son’s mouth.

“His lips are purple,” she observed.

This story was originally published July 26, 2014 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Because of cooler temperatures and rain, pool attendance has taken a dive."