After yearlong closure, Columbia sets opening dates for city pools, park buildings
After being shuttered for a year amid the coronavirus pandemic, the city of Columbia has set a reopening date for the community center buildings in its parks.
The city’s parks and recreation department also is laying out when youth baseball and basketball will resume, and when the city’s pools will open again.
Community centers in the various parks will reopen May 3, according to Assistant City Manager Henry Simons. The Drew Wellness Center just off Harden Street also will reopen on May 3, including the indoor pool there. Members are asked to bring their own towel, and there won’t be individual swimming lessons initially. Fitness classes at Drew Wellness are expected to start up again by May 17.
Meanwhile, youth baseball through the city’s rec department is slated to start again in early May, and youth and adult basketball leagues will begin in June.
And the city’s outdoor public pools, long a staple of Columbia’s blast furnace summers but which closed a year ago amid the pandemic, are set to reopen on Memorial Day weekend.
Simons said the city has been monitoring COVID-19 data throughout the year, and has noted the significant reduction in new coronavirus cases in SC in the last month, though he was quick to say the city will continue to watch data for any significant spikes in new cases or virus spread.
“We will continue to monitor it, but we plan to proceed with our opening on May 3,” Simons said.
The assistant city manager said parks staff has been hearing overtures from the public about opening outdoor city pools on Memorial Day weekend.
“We feel good about it,” Simons said. “There have been some requests, in particular, from our citizens, as well as some of our (swim) teams in the community that want to practice. I think it is a relief to have pools available. We will follow CDC guidelines in everything that we do as we come back.
“But we are excited about being able to provide those services back to our citizens.”
One parks function that is not back on the schedule yet, though, is the city’s annual summer camps program. Concerts and movies in city parks also have yet to get a start date for this summer.
Simons said the city isn’t ready to bring those particular functions back just yet.
“Even though we are seeing a significant decline in cases, we are still in a pandemic,” the city official said. “So, in those areas, summer camps and gatherings, particularly summer camps, we don’t feel like we are ready to do that at this moment. We want to give that more time before we proceed.”
At-large City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine told The State the time is right to get parks facilities back open.
“I think we are now at that point to cautiously start reopening,” Devine said. “I do think our staff is very mindful, and they have been meeting and planning and preparing. I think we are very prepared to give it a try. I just hope the community understands that, as things open up, we have to be wise and follow precautions.”
