Aurora residents find limited community pool options over hot weekend
Many Aurora families were left disappointed on Sunday after they were turned away from one of only two outdoor pools available to the community on this hot July weekend.
"It's just hot out here. We wanted to go swimming, and it wasn't even open," Jamaea Johnson said. "I'm upset about it because we did come here early."
The Del Mar Aquatic Center was supposed to stay open until 6 p.m., but lifeguards told CBS4 they had to close early around 1 p.m. because of issues with the chlorine, leaving many with limited options during this hot weekend. This also comes just weeks after the City of Aurora announced it had to adjust hours of operation at their facilities because of a lifeguard shortage.
"These pools get really full, and they aren't that big, and with so many people coming they should definitely have more pools open, more options, more places to go," said Rosa Lopez, who stopped by Del Mar with her family but was denied entry.
Fred Fenner and his family spent the afternoon searching for a pool to cool off, and they were finally able to do that at the Parklane pool on East 30th ave. It was the only pool left open to the community on Sunday once Del Mar closed prematurely.
"We went to the pool to cool down for a nice warm day," Fenner told CBS4. "Today this was our third pool to stop at because the other two were closed. The other one was just closed due to the lack of lifeguards, the other one was due to maintenance."
Johnson and her friends believe the city needs to better maintain its facilities during the summer, and offer more options from the sweltering heat.
"They should open more pools," she said.
CBS4 reached out to Aurora Parks, Recreation & Open Space Department to ask about the pool concerns, but it did not return our request.