ROCHELLE — The 2024 season at Spring Lake Pool has been in full swing since opening June 5, Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District Director of Recreation Maureen Stevens said June 20. 

Attendance numbers have been higher in recent years at the longtime Rochelle public pool facility that underwent $620,000 worth of renovations a few years ago that included the addition of a splash pad, patched and repainted pools, new shade umbrellas, an upgraded locker room with LED lighting, 16 new lower entrance parking stalls, new fencing and revamped landscaping. 

“Things have gone really well since opening,” Stevens said. “Since then we've been open and steady with good crowds because of the heat. Northern Illinois is rough on outdoor pools. They're not money makers and that's a known fact. Our staff and board are very proud of Spring Lake and the board has invested tons of money down here to keep it going and we really appreciate that. And clearly the community does too.”

Park District Aquatics Supervisor Tori Schultheis said this season has seen “a lot of” new attendance from families from surrounding towns. The Hopkins Park pool in DeKalb is closed for the summer for repairs and usual visitors to it have chosen to come to Spring Lake this summer.

“Those families have been raving about our pool here, which is great to hear,” Schultheis said. “We love hearing positive feedback. More and more outdoor pool facilities are closing. I think COVID-19 dealt a big blow against them. The lifeguard certification course is really in-depth and I think it can be a big undertaking for the teens we have here working. I'm grateful to have so many of them willing to do it this year. We're one of the only outdoor pools in a two-hour radius. We have a lot of features here that aren't common.”

The work to open Spring Lake for the season starts in January with hiring, and the park district’s maintenance staff diverts a lot of its attention to the facility in May working on tasks like cleaning and getting pumps functioning.

Each lifeguard at Spring Lake takes a 30-hour certification course and every two years they must recertify with a 10-hour course. Every employee at Spring Lake is CPR and first aid certified, which is additional training. Staff are also trained with an eight-hour orientation and lifeguards do an additional 5-6-hour training course with the Rochelle Fire Department.

Infrastructure work at Spring Lake is never done, Stevens said.

“This year we put in all new chemical controllers in the filter room that help us better regulate the chemicals that are going into the pool to keep them at a level suitable for swimming,” Stevens said. “We've done a lot of landscaping work. We're working on getting plant growth on the walls.”

The recent addition of the splash pad has brought increased use to the facility and helped to extend its season when the pool closes due to lifeguards having to return to school. The splash pad is free to the public when the pool is closed. Schultheis said it’s common for the splash pad to be busy from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

“We believe the recent improvements we've made here set us up well for the future,” Stevens said. “That was the board's plan. They didn't want to just stick a band aid on any of the problems. They invested a lot of money to solve the problem at its root so it wouldn't come up again. That large renovation project we did is serving its purpose. The splash pad gets so much use. We like that it can extend our season. We've tried to extend Spring Lake pool hours and just haven't had luck. The majority of our lifeguards are students and when they go back to school we lose our workforce. The splash pad lets us open the season earlier and end it later and it's free to the public.”

Spring Lake will host six community swims this summer that are free to the public that are sponsored by community partners. It has seen more demand with hotter temperatures, including large groups coming for field trips.

“We're just excited about the season,” Stevens said. “It's going well and we hope that it continues. The hotter it gets, the busier we get. Our numbers have been higher in recent years, which is good for revenue. Pools in Northern Illinois will never make money, but the more people we get down here, the better that deficit is. We plan for that and make sure to profit in other areas to cover that expense. We do it because it's such a beloved facility.”

Schultheis grew up lifeguarding at Spring Lake in high school and enjoys seeing it full of community members in her aquatics supervisor position years later.

“I'm excited that we have a great team that makes safety such a priority,” Schultheis said. “I love that the kids in our community have a safe, fun, exciting place to go to every day. A lot of these kids are here all day every day and I want them to feel welcome by everyone working here. And our staff puts in that effort and recognizes kids by name and gives them direction and when they need it and attention when they need it. I want to create that positive environment.”