One of the largest family pools in the country is currently experiencing a boom: with 60,000 entries by the end of July, the Wels outdoor pool is more frequented than it has been for a long time. 20,000 fewer visitors were counted at the same time last year: “However, we opened up three weeks later in 2021,” says Welldorado.
Nevertheless, it is evident that the bathing establishment is popular with the people of Wels and that city politicians are reacting to this with ongoing investments. “Last year the new diving board was built. This year we bought a robot lawn mower to look after the green areas,” explains Deputy Mayor Gerhard Kroiß (FP), who is responsible for Wels’ leisure facilities. Before the computer-controlled lawn mower makes its rounds in the evening, all foreign objects on the lawn must be collected so that the mower is not damaged.
The regular guests are basically satisfied with the offer in the outdoor pool, even if there are complaints here and there. During one of his consultation hours, Kroiss was told that the acoustics of the intercom were declining from year to year. “We are in the process of correcting this problem. The components for the new system should be arriving soon.” The occupancy of the permanent cabins also leaves a lot to be desired: every third cabin is unoccupied. It couldn’t be because of the price, according to Kroiß: “108 euros per season are affordable.” His explanation: The users of long-term cabins belonged to the older generation, young bathers would not use them.
Bather demands more staff
The number of lifeguards corresponds to the regulations, emphasizes Kroiß. But there are always bottlenecks, claims a bather who wants to remain anonymous. “If the diving board is opened and personnel are withdrawn from the other pools, the rear pools will be unoccupied.”
The speaker replies that nobody has complained about this during his consultation hours and lists the most common complaints: “On the one hand, there is the noise from loud music boxes and, as already mentioned, the loudspeaker system, which is now being renewed.”
A grievance that particularly upset young mothers has long since been resolved: “It was about shading the baby pool and installing a hot water shower in the sports pool. We reacted quickly,” says Kroiss. (fam)
Source: Nachrichten
