By Carrie Moritz, Gazette

Pool Manager Leah Konechne checks the temperature of Joe Higgins before entry to the Garretson pool on Monday. The pool opened on Monday after implementing several measures to attempt to limit viral spread. Though Konechne said to our photographer that she was very shy about having her picture taken for the paper, we’d also like to point out that the simple act of doing her job in a very difficult time under very difficult and unprecedented circumstances is worthy of both praise and recognition by the community. We would like to recognize Konechne and the entire staff of the pool accordingly. (photos by G. Moritz, Gazette)

The Garretson City Council met in special session on Tuesday, May 26 to approve the Annual Report, but the other two pieces on the public portion of the agenda garnered more attention: a plan regarding the pool, and the installation of trees at the new day use area of Split Rock Park.

Pool Manager Leah Konechne and Pool Board Member Jill Stiefvater presented on behalf of the Pool Board for the community-owned pool, which has decided to open for the summer. Even though the pool is not owned by the City, they wanted to ensure that before they opened on June 1, they had the full support of the council.

While all council members and the mayor all expressed their support, they did ensure that all proper precautions were being taken in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Active cases in Minnehaha County have been decreasing over the past several weeks, but most area pools have opted to keep their pools closed over the summer. Garretson and Lennox are the only two public pools in the Sioux Falls area that will be open (Wild Water West, a privately-owned waterpark, is also open).

In light of these facts, the Garretson Community Pool Board are taking several steps not only to ensure the health of our community members, but also to make sure the pool is not overrun by Sioux Falls, Brandon, Luverne, and other community members, rendering it unavailable to Garretson residents.

“It’s a terrible situation [regarding the pandemic],” said council member Jodi Gloe, “but we’ve gotta give them [community members] something.” She stated she was fully behind the pool board’s decision to open.

While the pool board is hesitant to be too optimistic, and they are treating each day as if it’s the last day the pool will be open, they had several steps they were taking to hopefully mitigate any viral spread through the community.

For instance, they will be taking the temperature of every person who walks through the pool doors. They will also be sanitizing after every break and throughout the day in areas that are “high-touch” points, and they will be utilizing punch cards instead of money at the concession stand as much as possible. They will also have lifeguards encourage social distancing, and they are modifying their hours to 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays. This will accommodate daycare youth as the pool will be open to Garretson-area daycares only from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Capacity at the pool will also be limited to 50 patrons.

Though things may change rapidly, the council expressed that it appeared the pool board had a good plan in place with regards to health concerns. After inquiries about how the board expected to accommodate out of town patrons, the board outlined that they were making season passes available only to those in the Garretson School District area or to students who attended the Garretson School. In normal years, they receive very few out of town patrons, but they acknowledged that this may be different this year. While no formal plans have been made, proposals were that season pass holders would be given preference on popular days; limiting swimming time lengths; or issuing swimming bands.

“We just wanted to move forward and say that we’re open,” said Stiefvater. They do not want to have to turn people away, but will be doing what they need to if the pool is at or near capacity.

After the presentation, the council turned its attention to approving the Annual Report, which City Finance Officer Anna Uhl stated was very similar to prior years’ reports. Once the report is approved, it goes to a legislature audit and to the newspaper for publication. Uhl noted that the report showed a net increase of taxable assets versus liabilities, and that revenues were ahead of expenses. This is positive for the City, and for the community as a whole.

The final item on the agenda before moving into executive session was regarding a request by council member Tom Godbey to install three trees in the new day use site area in Split Rock Park. Two were maple and one was spruce, and while the Garretson Parks Advisory Committee (GPAC) members in attendance were supportive of Godbey’s request, the Mayor wanted to ensure that Godbey was working with them properly.  He has been requesting several items at council instead of bringing them up to GPAC first.

GPAC member Colleen Collier, who has been working closely with the City on its efforts to create a plan for ash tree removal and replacement, asked Godbey not plant the trees too closely together.

“Most of the trees in that area are ash,” she said. Ash trees, currently under threat from the emerald ash borer, are going to require removal once the insect is found in Garretson.

Mayor Greg Beaner noted that according to SDSU Extension Officer John Ball, once the emerald ash borer is found in Garretson, the City will only have five years to remove all ash trees before they are deemed unsafe. The insect was found in Canton earlier this spring, and Worthington last year.

The council then voted to go into executive session and adjourned.