There will be swimming at some municipal pools in the city of Syracuse this summer, but it won’t however look like summers' past.
The city of Syracuse generally opens up eight pools every summer. But the city can’t afford to do that this year because of a multi-million dollar budget gap caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Mayor Ben Walsh said he had to take that into account as he made a decision to open two pools.
"I weighed that with our young people in the city, many of whom, pools are the highlight of their summer, and when I thought of letting are kids down at this really difficult time, it broke my heart," Walsh said.
The pools at Schiller Park and Kirk park will open July 16.
Walsh said he'd like to open more, and is hoping a GoFundMe page, sponsored by the Syracuse Parks Conservancy, can bring in $100,000 to allow the city to open two more pools.
The fundraising effort has until this Friday to reach its goal. It's raised just over $15,000 so far.
"This is an unprecedented time and what I’ve learned early on in this crisis is not to predict what will happen a week from now," Walsh said. But I believe in our community and I’m hopeful people are going to step up."
The pools will follow New York's guidance on gatherings, with a limit of 50 people in the pool area at one time. Families will need to wear masks at all times, and must make reservations. Dressing rooms will not be open to the public, and swim lessons are canceled.
