Spring Lake Pool in Rochelle saw its highest attendance numbers in 5 years this summer, Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District Director of Recreation Maureen Stevens said Aug. 21.

The park district attributed the high numbers at the outdoor pool to a hotter-than-normal summer, which also necessitated creativity with staffing, such as shift swaps so staff could have extra breaks and rotations to stay cool and sharp.

Stevens said the park district hires over 40 staff members for each summer, regardless of expected attendance or temperatures. More staff were scheduled for shifts this summer to deal with larger crowds. The park district was happy to see high numbers this summer to increase revenue and provide a place for area residents to beat the heat.

“Spring Lake has always been a community feature,” Stevens said. “Just knowing that it’s still in people’s hearts is reassuring. It shows that all the work and effort it takes to open it every year is worth it because you get to see the happiness on everyone’s faces.”

Spring Lake’s amenities also include a splash pad, which is available with admission during open pool hours and available for free when the pool is closed. That helped it to provide another way to residents to cool off outside of the pool’s 10-week season.

The facility also offers swimming lessons and a swim team, which serves to bring more residents to the pool and teach water safety. Five sponsored community swims were held this summer that offered free admission for residents, courtesy of Central Bank, Rochelle Community Hospital, the City of Rochelle, First State Bank and the Community Action Network.

With the help of an OSLAD grant, the longtime Rochelle public pool facility underwent $620,000 worth of renovations a few years ago that included the addition of the splash pad, patching and repainting of pools, new shade umbrellas, an upgraded locker room with LED lighting, 16 new lower entrance parking stalls, new fencing and revamped landscaping.

Stevens said recent reinvestment has also included new decking, and an overhaul of the filter to help with water clarity and chemistry. The park district has plans to upgrade pool heaters before next summer.

“The board had the foresight to know that Spring Lake has always been a beloved location in Rochelle and that just doesn’t disappear overnight,” Stevens said. “Being able to reinvest those funds back into Spring Lake and something people love is completely worth it. We’re so thankful the board was willing to make that investment a few years ago to help keep things running smoothly.”

Stevens said hiring seasonal staff for Spring Lake is a “massive undertaking”, with lifeguards, maintenance, customer service and coaching personnel needed. The hiring process typically begins in February.

Amid hotter recent summers, the park district is thankful for high attendance numbers, along with its new amenities that can help keep residents cool.

Other public outdoor pools in the area and region have gone by the wayside in recent years, but Spring Lake has not. Stevens said the facility saw “a huge influx” of nonresidents utilizing the pool this year, and expects that to continue.

“While Spring Lake is always for our residents, having that extra revenue from outside of the community really only helps us,” Stevens said. “The fact that other entities in surrounding areas have closed their pools and are going to splash pad only or no water at all is understandable when you look at it from financial and risk management standpoints. But keeping it community oriented and the benefits of Spring Lake far outweigh all of that risk and cost for us. All we can do is train our staff the best we can to make sure we can keep the community safe. I think everyone would agree that still having Spring Lake is worth that effort.”