Othello pool closed without permission

Citizens to be compensated

OTHELLO — Othello City Council is working to compensate people turned away from the city pool.

"It wasn't supposed to be done," Mayor Shannon McKay said about the unauthorized closure.

During a Monday night workshop, Councilmember Eleanor Brodahl said she is obtaining a list of people who were turned away or who expected to be at the pool.

On July 29, pool management closed the pool at 2 p.m. due to lack of attendance, City Administrator Ehman Sheldon advised in a city document.

"(Management) believed there was a policy relative to operational costs and number of people in the pool," he noted. "Families and individuals in the pool were asked to leave and people were turned away at the door."

There is not a policy stating the pool can be closed due to lack of attendance, Sheldon said. The pool can be closed due to certain weather conditions only, such as lightning.

There were approximately 20 people at the pool when it was closed, Brodahl said. The previous Sunday there were more than 200 people there.

Sheldon said the pool managers were counseled for their decision.

"I have instructed the managers that they do not have the authority to close the pool," he said.

Citizens who were turned away will receive a day admission pass to the pool, Sheldon said. Those who were turned away who had annual passes will be compensated.

Children who were at the pool without a parent were not left unsupervised, he said.

Management made attempts to contact parents.

According to the pool's policy, if management is unable to contact a parent, the child is taken to city hall and the police dispatch attempts to make contact with a parent.

To his knowledge, the pool has not been closed early before July 29.

The pool is open daily from noon to 7 p.m.