Vernon's revamped peanut pool is 'awesome' and should stay open

As Vernon's popular peanut pool gets ready to close for the season, parents, and especially their children, would like to see it stay open as the warm weather continues. The newly revamped and very pricey Lakeview Wading Pool https://infotel.ca/newsitem/vernons-new-44-million-wading-pool-set-to-open/it105420 officially closes Sept. 3, much to the disappointment of almost everyone iNFOnews.ca spoke to on a Friday morning. "I do want to see it open longer because it’s still warm out," mom of five, Lindsay Zachary, told iNFOnews.ca. Her sentiment has been echoed by many since the pool opened, and was shared by the half-a-dozen families who turned up just as the peanut pool was opening at 11 a.m. Aug. 30. "I would like to see it open longer, I think that Vernon needs more areas like this and the fact that they are going to close it while it's still nice... is unfortunate," Jessica Pacheco told iNFOnews.ca. Pacheco has come to the Lakeview Wading Pool, more commonly known as the Peanut pool, with her nephew. It's already 24 C and the day is set to climb to 28 C. For the next week, the weather forecast says it will hover around 30C. "I think it should be weather dependent, I don't think they should have set dates because every summer is different," she said. Anyone who's ventured to the wading pool later in the day will have seen how popular the revamped facility is. Rough numbers from the city say 13,500 people used the pool in the two months it was open, up from 11,500 who used the old pool in 2021. On a sunny Friday morning after a cooler-than-normal week, Britany Powell turned up at the Peanut pool with her 15-month-old son, Ridge. She'd love to see it open longer throughout the summer. "We might as well get our use out of it," she said. And at the cost of $4.77 million, she does have a point. The pool is scheduled to open from the Friday before July 1 until Labour Day weekend, typically the first week of September. The City's 2024 Financial Plan says on average that's nine-and-a-half weeks a year. The operating costs for this year were estimated at $106,000. That equates to more than $11,000 a week, or $1,600 a day when its in use. And that's not including the cost of building the pricey wading pool https://infotel.ca/newsitem/vernons-peanut-pool-over-budget-by-1-million/it97287 . The federal and provincial governments chipped in $1.9-million, the District of Coldstream $340,000, and two regional district areas paid $250,000. The remaining $2.8-million came from Vernon taxpayers. Crass mathematics calculates that if the money for the $4.77-million project was borrowed over 20 years, and the pool is open 9.5 weeks a year, it costs $25,000 a week, $3,500 a day, or $500 an hour, for 20 years. Enjoying a summertime vacation, Ashley and Rory MacKinnon are in Vernon with their five-year-old son, staying with friends who live nearby. The couple from the Kootenays say they know their friends want the pool's season extended. Their son Declan has been lining up every morning at 11 a.m. waiting for the pool to open since they'd been here. "If we lived here I would like to see it open longer," Ashley said, adding "absolutely." City of Vernon spokesperson Josh Winquist said traditionally the city has closed its outdoor pools after the Labour Day weekend, like other outdoor pools throughout the province. One of the main challenges is staffing. "Most outdoor pools are staffed by students who return to school after Labour Day, making it difficult to maintain the necessary workforce," he said. The opening date for next year isn't yet set in stone, but Winquist said that the City's outdoor pools typically open at the beginning of the school summer break as many of the lifeguards are students returning for seasonal work. However, the decision to open and close the pools is made by the manager of aquatics and is approved by council during the annual budget process. iNFOnews.ca asked City of Vernon acting Mayor Teresa Durning if she would push for the pool to be open longer throughout the summer months but didn't receive a response. Back at the pool, Zachary is laying a towel down in a thin sliver of shade on the grassy area outside the large black fence that surrounds it. The large trees surrounding the pool had to be cut down https://infotel.ca/newsitem/vernon-to-cut-down-trees-for-peanut-pool-revamp/it93517 to accommodate the design, leaving little to no shade - a common gripe among parents seeking respite from the scorching summer sun. Zachary's twins are four, and she has a one-year-old and a six-year-old. While the six-year-old may be back at school soon, the little ones won't, and half of the pool — just a couple of feet deep — was designed with them in mind. "The kids that are in preschool (and) what about the moms that have nothing else to do with their little babies?" she said. She's been to the pool about a dozen times over the summer and said she rotates between the peanut pool, the Lavington Pool, which is also scheduled to close after this weekend, the Vernon Rec Centre, and Splashdown Vernon water slides. Vernon mom Laura Cragg is also at the pool that morning, and like the majority of people there, she frequently brings her six-year-old and two-year-old to the pool. She'd like to see it open earlier in the year as soon as the weather is warm enough. "Longer is... better, kids like to play and it's only 3 p.m. when they are done (school)," she said. One thing that is overwhelmingly clear from parents at the peanut pool is that they all think it's a wonderful facility and they are all grateful. Grandmother Deb Chamberlain lives in the area and has three grandchildren in Vernon. She says she understands the labour issues and why it closes after the Labour Day weekend. However, she would like to see the opening hours increased. Currently, the pool is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. "Eleven o'clock is a hard time... you want to come early in the morning, go home and have lunch and maybe come back," she said. "It makes no sense." She also says she's not a big fan of the new design. "The old peanut pool was a lot more open," she said. "With the old pool, you were right there... you could sit on the grass (and) you weren't separated from your kids... you could grab your kids." The original peanut pool opened in 1958 and stayed incredibly popular until it was finally closed in 2021 https://infotel.ca/newsitem/big-grant-could-revitalize-vernons-peanut-wading-pool/it59015 . Three years and $4.77-million later, the revamped version is proving even more popular — they just want it to stay open a bit longer. To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer mailto:bbulmer@infonews.ca  or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 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