INDIANAPOLIS — Standing in the hot sun, Richard Miller didn’t like what he saw Friday when he looked through the fence around the pool at Riverside Park.
“I’m looking at dry bones. I’m looking at what I expected to be water for tomorrow because we’re supposed to be hosting a family reunion,” Miller said, explaining that 50 of his relatives, many from out of town, will be here Saturday.
Miller said his sister rented a picnic shelter at Riverside Park for the reunion, hoping the family could enjoy the pool, too.
“I got people calling from out of town talking about, ‘Is the pool going to be open?’ Don’t look like it’s going to be open,” Miller said.
The pool at Riverside is one of four Indy Parks pools closed for issues, everything from problems with pumps to a pool lining at the Garfield Park pool that doesn’t filter the water out.
“In some cases, it’s just waiting for one part to get in because then we can test and make sure water quality is where it needs to be, said Alex Cortwright with Indy Parks.
The city says it discovered the issues in the past few months while testing the pools before they opened for the season.
One problem the city is not having is hiring lifeguards — although several are still needed for the pool at Willard Park before it can open after repairs are finished.
“Willard is the only one with staffing issues. The rest, as soon as they are physically able to pass those tests, the staffing is set to go,” Cortwright said.
Right now, 13 pools and 20 splash pads are open across the city.
The city says it expects to have most of the issues resolved in a few weeks, although the ones at Garfield Park could take longer — potentially the rest of the summer.
“Garfield, unfortunately, is more of a substantial issue. Our teams are working on it as best they can, but it does seem that one is a little more substantial," Cortwright said. "We’ll do what we can to get it repaired, but the key is the safety.”
Richard Miller wishes one of those 13 pools that are open was at Riverside Park where his family will still be coming together — open pool or not.
“We just have to deal with what we got because we’re coming together as a family, and that’s what we’re about,” Miller said.