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STEUBENVILLE -- City Council pulled the plug on the summer swim season Tuesday, saying the risks were too great.
The vote capped a lengthy discussion of Gov. Mike DeWine's guidelines for pools, including the difficulties of enforcing a 6-foot social distancing radius in and out of the pool.
Based on the pool measurements, Recreation Director Lori Fetherolf had told council they'd only be able to admit about 60 people.
"Turning people away, I'm going to tell you that will be an issue," Fetherolf said. "We'd also have to hire someone to (police) social distancing, it's not a lifeguard's responsibility to make sure someone in the grass area is social distancing."
She said the pool staff, with the exception of lifeguards, would have to wear gloves and masks and they'd need to install partitions to separate workers from the public at concessions and the front desk. And, while chlorine in pool water might kill the virus, "it doesn't kill it on chairs and handrails, so at least every two hours they'd have to be cleaned, and when someone leaves they'd have to be cleaned."
"For the safety of our staff, you have to assume everybody who comes into the pool has the virus so you have to keep the staff and everyone else safe," Fetherolf said. "There'd have to be a protocol so if someone developed COVID-19, we'd be able to trace it back."
If a swimmer were to contract the coronavirus, Fetherolf said the city's insurance carrier indicated the city would not be covered.
"While it would be very difficult for somebody to prove they caught the virus at the pool, are we willing to spend city money to cover us, because they will not," she said. "It would be city money that came into play if somebody (got sick) at the pool."
City Manager Jim Mavromatis agreed with Fetherolf, saying closing the pool this year "is not the end of the world."
"My concern is the safety of the citizens of Steubenville and my employees," he said. "What cinched it for me was when I got an answer back from our insurance company. I cannot recommend we do something (if) we don't have protection from our insurance carrier. It would be financial suicide."
Law Director Costa Mastros also voiced concern, saying, "If we do open it, we can't be lax in following all the mandated guidelines and even some of the recommendations. We'd need to do them all to make ourselves bullet proof, knowing full well we're not covered (by insurance)."
But Councilwoman at large Kimberly Hahn called the pool "a very important and valuable community resource," and argued that they should be able to "come up with some creative solutions."
"When you figure there can only be 60 people in the pool, a lot of people come with their children," Hahn pointed out. "But families don't have to social distance."
Others pointed out the difficulty in asking high school and college-age employees to decide what constitutes a family unit, then make sure they stay in their group.
"We would have 16-, 17-, 18-year-old kids trying to maintain social distancing, cleaning the pool, cleaning the handrails, putting up signs," 5th Ward Councilman Willie Paul said. "I'm not worried about what it's going to cost, I'm worried about the safety of the kids. I'm not in favor of opening the pool this year."
Second Ward Councilman Craig Petrella said he was "very concerned" about the possibility the city could expose itself to a lawsuit "and our insurance company walking away."
"And having the pool open when other facilities are closed, I don't like that at all," Petrella added. "Either everything should be open or nothing open. What's the difference between people playing basketball or people swimming?"
"Chlorine kills the virus," Hahn said.
"But it does not clean the deck or handrails," Petrella replied.
Sixth Ward Councilman Bob Villamagna said while their priority has to be the health and safety of employees as well as the general public, protecting the city also is crucial.
"I wouldn't drive my car without insurance," he said.
Mavromatis told council "it's just not worth the roll of the dice."
"This isn't about fear or anything," he added. "It's about reality and what we have to deal with."
Council voted unanimously to accept the rec board's recommendation, though Hahn and 1st Ward Councilwoman Asantewa Anyabwile indicated it was with some reluctance on their part while 3rd Ward Councilman Eric Timmons said the city needs to spend some of the money it would have put toward the pool to make improvements.
"I still think there's something we give back to the citizens, we could do something to make it better," Timmons said.
"We need to make sure we have the (money), so let's wait a couple months," Dressel replied.