Pool slides reopen
News editor
Parents of frustrated young swimmers in Hillsboro and Marion got good news last week when both municipal pools lifted restrictions on their slides.
In Hillsboro’s case, it was a matter of persistence, city administrator Larry Paine said.
“We knew of two or three inspectors and we were calling each of them each and every day until we got somebody,” he said. “It was just one of those deals where this guy was the first one to answer his phone call. We got the guy from Texas because he was working in western Kansas. He showed up Thursday morning and did the inspection.”
The inspector found a few minor issues, such as a nick in a section of fiberglass, that can be fixed after the pool closes for the year. A person has been stationed at the slide to ensure that no child less than 48 inches tall uses it, per manufacturer recommendation. Children also have to slide feet-first while sitting or lying on their backs.
The solution in Marion was research, city administrator Roger Holter said.
New Marion-Florence superintendent Aaron Homburg scoured construction paperwork archives until he found the manufacturer’s specifications for the slide, Holter said.
The height rating of the slide was beneath the 15-foot minimum specified in regulations. The same inspector who certified Hillsboro’s slide said Marion’s therefore wasn’t covered by the new law, and it was reopened.
A $50 application fee for certification will be refunded to the district, Holter said.