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Parks Department reports increased aquatics use and summer‑camp participation
Summary
Parks staff told the subcommittee that Phoenix’s summer youth camps ran at 26 sites with teen-volunteer participation and served over 4,000 meals daily; aquatics attendance rose to about 287,000 visitors and swim lessons registered 13,200 participants. Staff outlined workforce training and retention steps for 2026.
Parks and Recreation officials presented a positive update on the city’s 2025 summer programs, telling the Transportation, Infrastructure and Planning subcommittee that participation, meals provided and aquatics use increased compared with last year.
Deputy Director Danielle (presenting the Phoenix Plays summer camp summary) said the program operated at 26 locations serving children ages 6–12 with site capacities that ranged from about 40 to 150 participants. Programming included field trips, guest presenters and a teen volunteer program; staff reported more than 200 teen volunteers and that the program served over 4,000 meals per day. Marketing efforts included English and Spanish paid ads and neighborhood platforms that produced roughly 200,000 impressions directed to the city enrollment portal.
Becky Kirk, aquatics supervisor, said city pool facilities saw roughly 287,000 visits this summer (about a 5% increase from 2024). Of the city’s 19 pools, 16 participated in the “Cool Kids” program that allows people 17 and younger to swim free; the city operated a 20th pool through a partnership with a third party. Kirk said more than 13,200 participants registered for paid swim lessons in 2025 (an increase of about 1,100 from the prior year) and that lessons remain $15 per session (about $1.88 per class by their accounting). The department also expanded lessons in August at six pools for ages 3–5, serving approximately 200 participants in that month.
Staff described workforce and retention measures: the department hired over 500 aquatic staff for the season, developed an accelerated assistant-manager training program that engaged roughly 50 prospective managers, and created head-lifeguard roles to strengthen site leadership. Training and recruitment efforts already began to prepare for the 2026 season, with lifeguard certification courses running through March and continued outreach to high schools.
Council members thanked Parks staff, called the programs a public safety and youth-engagement success, and asked staff to return with lessons learned applied to next season’s access and programming.
Staff concluded they would keep recruitment and training efforts active year-round to support a larger seasonal workforce and noted plans to continue outreach and retention strategies ahead of the 2026 season.
