EASTHAMPTON — After three long summers of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lifeguard shortages, the Easthampton Community Pool is filling up with swimmers again.

“I’m so excited. I plan on being here four or five times a week,” said resident Bonnie McLoud as she applied sunscreen to her face on Tuesday. McLoud has lived in Easthampton for three years, and last year she would drive to the Holyoke pool to get her pool fix in.

“To have it right in our town is awesome,” she said. “Plus, the kids have been cooped up because of the rain for days and they’re driving us bonkers. It’s great to come outside and just be outside. It looks so clean and beautiful.”

On Tuesday, just after the pool opened for the afternoon, around 15 people were swimming in the refreshing 70-degree water, still on the chilly side after the pool was initially filled up last week. Another 10 or so people soaked in the hot sun along the cement perimeter.

“It’s definitely been busy, steady,” said Pool Manager Courtney Ross, adding that the heavy rain in recent days has put a damper on attendance since the pool’s opening on Friday, July 7.

On weekdays, the Camp Nonotuck Summer Day Camp uses the pool from noon to 2 p.m., and the pool then opens to the public from 2 to 7 p.m., weather permitting. On weekends it is open from noon to 7 p.m.

The pool has been closed since 2019, and a shortage of lifeguards — a problem nationally — is to blame.

Parks and Recreation Director John Mason said that this year, however, “We were ahead of the game with lifeguards. We actually had more lifeguards than we had pre-pandemic, which was really encouraging.”

According to Mason, the department was extra aggressive in its pursuit of lifeguards, offering competitive pay between $17.50 and $19 an hour, along with bonuses for lifeguards that stick with the job until the end of the season. He added that more lifeguards have applied for the Easthampton pool due to the closure of other community pools in the area.

Lifeguard Ryan Brooks decided to apply because he took a lifeguard training course at his school, Williston Northampton School.

“Because I go to Williston I see Easthampton as part of my community too, so I wanted to help out around here,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun just being out here. I get to sit in the sun all day and watch after all the little kids.”

Maintaining a58-year-old pool

Getting the pool back up and running “took some time a little elbow grease,” according to Ross, the pool manager. “We painted, we power washed, we had to hook up our power line because a tree fell down and they had never fixed it because it wasn’t open … and we had to get a new pool pump in the filter house.”

Mason said the pool seams also needed to be redone for the pool to hold water. Maintenance work was the collective effort of the Easthampton Parks & Recreation maintenance staff, lifeguards, the Department of Public Works, McKenney Electrical, Whitely Electric, and Boulanger’s Plumbing & Heating.

“I’ve been here 14 years, and it looks as good as it’s ever been since I’ve been here,” said Mason, who added that it is definitely a challenge to keep a 1965 pool in good condition.

“I really can’t say enough of how much hard work [the staff] put in nights, weekends, everything to get the pool open for the community,” he said.

Looking to the future, a six-year plan for Nonotuck Park upgrades outlines significant construction to the pool, including a new pool deck surface to add interest and color, new decorative fencing, new shade structures and umbrellas, and additional fencing around the splash pad to enclose the structure.

Funding sources include a $400,000 grant from the state’s Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities which will pay 68% of the project cost, along with a federal Land and Water Conservation Fund which matches up to $750,000 in grant funding.

Mason said the goal is to break ground on the pool construction in early September.

For now, the general feeling now that the pool is open is “relief,” Mason said.

“We get hundreds of calls during the week and emails regarding the pool … We’re excited that it’s back open.”

Residents can purchase a daily pass for $5 or $3 for children. Non-resident passes are available at $6 for adults and $4 for children. Seasonal individual and family passes are also available and range from $55 to $160.

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