Pool closures, staffing concerns raised at council meeting
By Lee Zion, Editor
Concerns about the city pool were raised during the Aug. 4 Missouri Valley City Council meeting.
On several occasions over the summer, possibly as many as 12 days, the pool was closed because the facility was short-staffed. Residents suggested it might be a good idea to issue partial refunds to families who bought pool passes, since they weren’t able to use the pool as much as they would have liked.
People referred to rumors that Lisa Dozier, a pool employee, actively encouraged teen lifeguards to go on strike. She subsequently resigned.
Kris Baxter called the city’s handling of the pool a series of “broken promises.”
“We’ll go swimming tomorrow. No we can’t, because the pool’s closed,” she said.
Baxter added that there was a near drowning at the pool, and the teen lifeguards did not know how to handle it.
The child, about 7 years old, was safe, but nobody handed him off to medical staff.
About 20 minutes later, he was back in the water, when he shouldn’t have been, Baxter said.
Baxter recommended that an adult be hired to supervise the pool.
