In an effort to meet a City Council goal and also serve the community’s aquatics needs, the city of Sandy has partnered with Mt. Hood Athletic Club to offer pool access to Sandy residents who live within the city limits.
Registration for the program began earlier this month but is still open. It must be completed in person at the Community and Senior Center, 38348 Pioneer Blvd.
“We heard from the public and our community that we needed aquatics,” said John Wallace, community/senior center manager. “City Council determined that there was going to be some budget to go ahead and put the goal of bringing aquatics opportunities to local Sandy residents.”
The Parks and Recreation department reached out to multiple businesses and schools with pools in the Sandy and East County area, and eventually decided to keep this program as local as possible by working with Mt. Hood Athletic Club, 37095 Highway 26.
“Really what made the most sense to us internally was that if we’re providing this service for our local Sandy residents, let’s keep it local,” Wallace added.
Through the program, families could reserve outdoor family swim passes (limited to households of four or less) for $5 and/or sign youths up for swim lessons for the month for $50, and seniors can sign up for water aerobics for $40 for the month of August.
There are still spots open for the level 3 swim lessons, and plenty of room for those interested in senior water aerobics. The family passes went quickly and are no longer available.
Youth swim lessons will start on Tuesday, Aug. 6, and take place every Tuesday and Thursday for the month of August. The $50 covers eight 30-minute lessons. Possible lesson times are 4-4:30 p.m., 4:35-5:05 p.m., 5:10-5:40 p.m. or 5:45-6:15 p.m.
“I think water safety is a basic human necessity, especially when you’re living next to bodies of water like rivers, lakes and oceans,” Wallace said. “So, it is a goal of our department and a goal of our city and council to make sure to the best of our ability with the assets that we have that we provide as much of that water safety and comfort to make sure families are prepared. Especially in these summer months when they go to these bodies of water, we want to make sure they are informed, and that they go recreate in a manner that is safe for everyone.”
Senior water aerobics classes run from noon to 12:50 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday through the month of August, starting on Monday, Aug. 5.
Funds for this program — $15,000 — came from the city’s general fund and were budgeted to pay the retail cost of the club’s provided services so that community members could receive them at a discount.
"MHAC has always cared about our community,” said Sandra Sites, Mt. Hood Athletic Club assistant general manager. “We are happy to be able to provide an opportunity for City of Sandy residents' children to learn to swim and explore healthy activities. We have been very pleased with our partnership with the Parks and Recreation staff on this project.”
Wallace noted that the city appreciates all of the operational work the club has done to accommodate the additional people utilizing their services, such as hiring and training swimming instructors and staff.
“Mt. Hood Athletic Club has been a super willing and gracious partner,” Wallace explained.
The department plans to reconvene with the club after the August program concludes to debrief and see if there’s a way to keep the program ongoing.
For more information about these programs, call the center at 503-668-5569 or visit ci.sandy.or.us/parks-rec/page/aquatics .
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