By Carrie Moritz, Gazette
Pool Manager Leah Konechne checks the temperature of Joe Higgins before entry to the Garretson pool on Monday. The pool opened on Monday after implementing several measures to attempt to limit viral spread. Though Konechne said to our photographer that she was very shy about having her picture taken for the paper, we’d also like to point out that the simple act of doing her job in a very difficult time under very difficult and unprecedented circumstances is worthy of both praise and recognition by the community. We would like to recognize Konechne and the entire staff of the pool accordingly. (photo by G. Moritz, Gazette)
The Garretson City Council met in special session on Tuesday, May 26 to approve the Annual Report, but the other two pieces on the public portion of the agenda garnered more attention: a plan regarding the pool, and the installation of trees at the new day use area of Split Rock Park.
Pool Manager Leah Konechne and Pool Board Member Jill Stiefvater presented on behalf of the Pool Board for the community-owned pool, which has decided to open for the summer. Even though the pool is not owned by the City, they wanted to ensure that before they opened on June 1, they had the full support of the council.
While all council members and the mayor all expressed their support, they did ensure that all proper precautions were being taken in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Active cases in Minnehaha County have been decreasing over the past several weeks, but most area pools have opted to keep their pools closed over the summer. Garretson and Lennox are the only two public pools in the Sioux Falls area that will be open (Wild Water West, a privately-owned waterpark, is also open).
