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Dixon says Patterson pool is OK
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Mayor Sheila Dixon gives swimming instructions to girls at the Patterson Park pool. Dixon toured the facility after a community organization complained of rowdiness and poor management.
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - After a one-hour tour of Patterson Park pool Monday, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon declared problems fixed.
The visit, which included several meetings with staff and casual banter with swimmers, was in response to community complaints of rowdy teenagers and inadequate staffing at the pool recently renovated for $2.2 million.
“I think we’ve addressed a majority of the issues,” the mayor said at a news conference after the tour.
Attributing some of the complaints partly to “teenagers being teenagers,” Dixon promised to implement reforms.
“I am concerned there are some young people who aren’t being supervised well enough,” she said.
The administration announced several changes to the facility’s operating procedures on Friday, including additional training for staff, extra lifeguards and a review of enforcement protocols.
Administration officials said the popularity of the city’s nine large pools as a gathering place for teenagers was an ongoing concern.
“Sometimes you have teenage boys climbing the fence, who either don’t want to pay or can’t,” said Connie Brown, director of the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.
Brown said overcrowding was also a pressing issue.
“One of our biggest problems is capacity,” Brown said. “On the hottest days like today, we have to run the pool in shifts.”
The Patterson Park pool has a capacity of 400 but generally limits use to 250 on hot days.
“We have the same problem at the Druid Hill Park pool,” said Brown, where the capacity is 500.
Despite the hot weather and long lines, patrons swimming within sight of the mayor had few complaints.
“It’s wonderful place,” said 12-year-old Shelby Haus, who was spending the day at the pool with her best friend Dianna Mason, 13. “People really need this pool; otherwise they’d have nowhere to go.”
sjanis@baltimoreexaminer.com
