Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Recreation And Pools topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hartford recreation department sets June 16 target to open pools, expands programs and staffing
Summary
The newly formed Department of Sports and Recreation told council members it plans to open all four major pools by June 16, is building staff capacity including a lifeguard class of 18, and is using grant funding to pilot new programs including e‑gaming, futsal and expanded summer gym programs.
Director Bridal Gallagher told the Hartford City Council committee that the recently established Department of Sports and Recreation has focused its first 10 months on building programming, staffing and systems — and on reopening facilities the city closed in prior years.
Gallagher said the department aims to open the four major outdoor pools — Goodwin, Pope, Kinney and Copark — on June 16, and to staff them with newly trained lifeguards. "Yes. For the first time and as long as I can remember, we're gonna open up in June," Gallagher said, adding the city has a current lifeguard training class of 18 and plans to hire from that class.
The department reported 11 full‑time positions (two vacancies), about 50 part‑time year‑round employees and roughly 85 seasonal staff who work primarily in summer operations such as camps and pools. Gallagher said the department absorbed an expansion allocation to add three full‑time positions and to create a program line in the budget; the recommended budget increased by $27,440 (about 1.2%) from the prior year, primarily to cover salary adjustments.
Gallagher described program and operational highlights: an expanded mix of drop‑in and pre‑registration programs (125 different programs through the winter season), a summer night gym program that provided free play for more than 1,000 Hartford youth, a midnight basketball partnership with the police department and violence‑prevention staff, free futsal leagues in collaboration with local soccer organizations, and steps to consolidate and more equitably distribute facility usage across parks and school gyms.
The department has also taken over the city's MyRec registration and permitting system to centralize scheduling and reservations for fields, gyms and centers. Gallagher said consolidating that function will make it easier to identify underused facilities and to expand community access.
Council members pressed the director on lifeguard staffing and safety. Gallagher said the department worked with human resources to streamline hiring and that the June opening depends on contractors signing off on recent pool repairs; she said lifeguards will be trained and scheduled to maintain required rotations and breaks.
Gallagher also outlined new pilot programs that reflect changing recreation demand: e‑gaming rooms in two centers (with classes on drone piloting and podcasting tied to workforce pathways), a plan to explore volleyball expansion and youth components to formerly adult drop‑in programs, and pilot park‑based outreach using a mobile “street team” stocked with recreation equipment.
Council members raised policy questions about out‑of‑town residents using city programs and requested that the department and council consider ordinances or rules to differentiate resident and nonresident use. Gallagher said the MyRec system will help identify users and aid future policy decisions.
Why it matters: Recreation programs and pool availability affect residents’ access to safe, supervised activities, summer jobs and community engagement opportunities. The department’s ability to recruit and hire lifeguards and instructors and to secure contractor signoffs for pool openings will determine how fully the city offers lessons, swim teams and drop‑in swim this summer.
Next steps: Gallagher said the department will continue filling vacancies, run the lifeguard training and provide the council with operational updates; councilmembers indicated interest in revising residency‑based fee or use policies and asked to be notified when pools open.
