Bohn Pool to open June 2 under city of Adrian management

ADRIAN — Even though it might not feel like ideal temperatures currently to enjoy a visit to the swimming pool, preparations are underway for the 2023 summer season at Adrian’s Bohn Pool, which is set to open for the season June 2.

The tentative opening date for the pool, located at Riverside Park, 631 S. McKenzie St., is situated around the last week of school for Adrian Public Schools students, Jeremiah Davies, Adrian’s parks and recreation director, said as part of a parks and recreation update during the Adrian City Commission’s April 17 premeeting study session.

The pool will close for the season Aug. 28, which Davies said also was situated around when most of the pool’s employees — mostly students — either head back to school or begin athletics practices.

Ten lifeguards are already on board for the summer, and Davies said he is optimistic at least four or five more lifeguards will be hired soon.

Robert Petkus, longtime swimming coach in Adrian and a YMCA lifeguard instructor, has also been hired as pool manager, Davies said.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes at Bohn Pool this summer will be its management.

For at least 15 years Bohn Pool has been managed and operated through the YMCA of Lenawee County and the Frank and Shirley Dick Family YMCA. Due to “unforeseen circumstances,” Davies explained to the commission, the YMCA is not able to operate the pool this summer. Because of that, the city is stepping in to take control of the pool’s operation, he said.

“I thought it prudent that we begin to start to bring some of these things back in house, to really give us a baseline to see the costs of how these things operate, and to really be able to kind of control and provide services to our residents,” Davies said.

The parks and recreation department in Adrian has been revitalized for a handful of years now, and it continues to bring on more and more city events that were once under its control and had to be handed off when the department folded into the parks and forestry department because of financial concerns. Other recreation activities once manned by the city were taken over by the YMCA and Adrian Public Schools.

As the city continues strengthening its involvement in parks and recreation with the Adrian schools district, Davies suggested updating pool fees from benefiting city residents and YMCA members to city residents and APS students or families. Rates for pool usage will not change from last season, Davies said. The city is not in the market of pricing out its residents and pool users, he said.

“I believe these prices do allow some pretty easy access to Bohn Pool,” he said.

For information about Bohn Pool rates or rental questions, the city of Adrian can be contacted at 517-264-4876 or via email to Cindy Schmucker at cindyschmucker@adrianmi.gov.

Pool rentals at Bohn Pool for special events can be done before or after public swimming hours so that usage of the pool is not restricted for anybody during hours of operation, Davies said. The proposed hours for the 2023 summer season are 1 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 1 to 8 p.m. Friday and 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Setting a precedent about not closing the pool to the public during posted swimming hours for a private event is important to address, Davies said.

“This avoids us restricting access to our kids or families that have season passes or it's July and it's 90 degrees outside. I don't think it's right that we shut the pool down for a private party (during public pool hours),” he said.

In relation to shutting public places down for events, Davies transitioned from Bohn Pool to Heritage Park when talking with the commission last week.

Rental logistics of Heritage Park were discussed in detail by Davies and Jason Lawrence, parks and forestry superintendent. The park, both men said, has been one of the most heavily requested of Adrian’s parks to rent for large gatherings and events. Most notably cited as an example was the mountain biking event hosted across the trails of Heritage Park by the Michigan Interscholastic Cycling Association, which has brought hundreds of people to Adrian each year since 2021.

This year, Lawrence said, the biking association wants to coordinate a championship event around the homecoming dates of Adrian College and Siena Heights University in September. The event does restrict use to the trails used by the bikers, Lawrence said. It does not, however, restrict access to the whole park.

“One of the things that we're seeing is the fantastic resurgence of people coming back to the parks, and really starting to see what we have to offer,” Davies said, indicating that Heritage Park, what he calls the “flagship” park for Adrian, continues to be requested for several events. “...We want people to be at our parks. However, if we're going to restrict access for any amount of time, there has to be to be a rate that reflects that,” Davies said.

To shut down the entire Heritage Park trail system for a whole day, there is a proposed rate of at least $500 to $525, Davies said. Other park rental rates were listed in Davies’ report which the commission will study and bring back to Davies with suggestions, alterations and other comments before moving forward with the proposal.

The disc golf course at Heritage Park continues to see an influx of participants and leagues, Davies added. Disc golf tournaments will also start to be hosted at Heritage Park. Because such tournaments will again restrict access to the public, Davies suggested proposed tournament fees of $100 minimum and/or teams of five players at $5 a person. Tournaments go quick, he said, and because of the speed of the game, the disc golf course would not be shut down for the entirety of the day.

The idea behind some of the rate adjustments, Davies said, is for the parks and recreation department to be more organized.

“Down the road, we can bring resources, budget items and things like that to help kind of improve the course,” he said.

With pickleball courts soon becoming a reality in Adrian, there is anticipation in the air, Davies said, for the public’s use of the pickleball courts, which are set for construction June 1 at Heritage Park.

Davies, who said he will be an attendant at the upcoming Southeast Michigan Pickleball Forum, said he is expecting there to be plenty of action at the pickleball courts when they are completed, meaning the city will need to work on some form of policy for tournaments, games, leagues and events at the pickleball courts.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Bohn Pool to open June 2 under city of Adrian management