As an avid swimmer, I’m very excited about the prospect of the opening of the Marshall White recreation center and swimming pools.

Since the Ogden High School (OHS) and Ben Lomond (BLHS) pools were reopened several years ago, I have enjoyed using these pools. Because the OHS pool is preferable for those swimming laps, I typically swim at OHS. Unfortunately, over the last year I have been disappointed with how often the OHS pool has been closed. On Monday (4-25-22) I swam at OHS in the morning, but today (Wednesday) when I went to the OHS, there was a sign on the door that said the pool was closed due to staffing shortages. During the summer of 2021, the OHS pool was closed on at least five Saturdays for community events, and there were no public swimming pools open in Weber County from December 18th, 2021 until January 3rd, 2022.

When I voted to fund the OHS and BLHS through my taxes, there was an expectation that it would be open to the public, yet over the last year it has not been open to the public on many occasions. Although I have contacted the management at least twice, there does not seem to be a plan to make sure the pool is staffed and open to the public. It is apparent to me that they need to raise wages so they can attract individuals to work at the pool, but there does not seem to be a plan to do this.

As we move towards opening Marshall White, I wish Weber County residents would have the same access to an excellent recreation center that they enjoy in Davis County. The South Davis Recreation Center is open seven days a week and rarely closes. I believe they even have hours on Thanksgiving. Why can’t we do this in Weber County?

Thomas Priest

Ogden

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