By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
During a special meeting on Monday night, the Brandon Board of Education discussed the future of the programs at their pool. In December, they received word from the previous management company, Aqua Club, that they were no longer in business.
“We entered into a contract three or four years ago with Aqua Club, and they managed the pool, everything from the USA Swim Club to swim lessons to open swim to swim aerobics during the week in the morning,” said Jan Meek, executive director of business services at Brandon Schools. “They notified us in December that they were no longer in business. I think they were kind of a casualty of the pandemic.”
The contract that they had with Aqua Club was supposed to go through 2022. The board expressed interest in finding another company to manage the pool.
“I would like to see something started, because it seems like the process could take a while,” said board vice-president Diane Salter. “The only sport that could save your life is swimming, in a lot of ways.”
One of the other issues brought up were the programs other than swim lessons, as the pool is a community pool and is used for open swim. Currently, there have to be two life guards on deck per Michigan State law, which would have to be handled by any company that manages the pool.
“That open swim has been a necessity for exercise,” said Salter. “We need to get that back to open if we can.”