Goodman Pool reopens for the summer by WORT 89.9FM Madison

Today marked Goodman Pool’s first official day of summer. The pool, located on the city’s near southside, was originally going to reopen yesterday, but that plan was scrapped due to high chances of storms.

It was a comfortable seventy-six degrees with slight cloud cover. But, despite the ideal weather, there was no typical summer crowd at Goodman. Shortly after opening at noon, there were only a few dozen patrons; a far cry from the pool’s usual mid-July crowds.

Josh Schmitt, recreation services coordinator with Madison’s park division, says that’s by design.

To promote social distancing, the pool is operating at one quarter capacity, only allowing in 250 people at a time. Schmitt says the city was going to hold off on reopening the pool, but increasing demand from the community encouraged them to reevaluate their original plans.

“The community values this pool, they want to come here. That’s what we heard when we were thinking about opening. We had planned not to open, but the community spoke and we listened.”

Like the rest of Dane County, the pool also requires masks for all patrons when using the pool’s indoor facilities.

It’s also operating in two hour blocks, closing down for thirty minutes after every shift so pool staff can sanitize the facility. Visitors to the pool will also notice large white circles on the pool deck to remind sunbathers to keep their distance from each other.

WBA Award Submission. Originally aired July 16, 2020