It takes a village: Town summer rec camp is on in three places; pool unlikely to open
May 27, 2020 | By Lisa ScagliottiNew state public health guidelines have thrown a wrench into summer camp plans across Vermont, but Waterbury Recreation’s popular summer camp has figured out a way to operate this summer using several locations around the village.
“The building’s ours for the summer,” said Recreation Director Nick Nadeau Tuesday. He was referring to St. Leo’s Hall, the parish hall behind St. Andrew’s Catholic Church on South Main Street.
St. Leo’s was the final piece to the summer rec camp puzzle that fell into place this week. With the church poised to begin very gradual reopening for services in June, the hall will not be in high demand over the summer months, church officials said.
It can be home base for the children in grades 1-3 enrolled in the town program that runs for eight weeks starting June 22.
The camp normally relies on the town recreation building at Anderson Field next to the town pool and in a park with basketball hoops, tennis courts, a playground, covered pavilion and room for children to run around.
Waterbury's summer recreation camp is a popular program for kids from kindergarten through middle school. This year's program will be split among three locations to comply with public health guidelines due to the COVID-19 virus. File photo by Gordon Miller.
But Nadeau last week told the Select Board that he wasn’t sure the original plan to run camp for some 150 youngsters from kindergarten through middle school would be feasible. Given the COVID-19 virus outbreak and cautious steps the state is taking to resume activities, the state has issued public health guidance for children’s programs as they either reopen or open for summertime.
Strict requirements about group sizes and limiting contact made the Anderson Field location inadequate for the entire roster enrolled in Waterbury’s recreation camp, Nadeau explained.
When registration opened in early March -- before the Covid Stay Home order that closed schools -- parents leaped to sign up their kids.
“It sold out in two minutes,” he said of the online signup.
Nadeau had planned for children in the kindergarten through third grade age groups to use the recreation building; older kids in grades 4-7 were to be based at the Wesley United Methodist Church, a spot they used last summer as well.
The church space with two separate areas will still work for the older group, Nadeau said. But the younger participants need to be divided into two age groups.
New state guidelines limit group size to 25 including staff and children from different groups may not mix, he explained.
Finding another location became especially challenging after Harwood Unified Union School District Superintendent Brigid Nease recently announced that school facilities would not be available for any summer programs.
Nadeau began scouting any space downtown that could accommodate a group for most of the summer. He said he was determined to make it work knowing how families rely on the program, especially with many looking to return to work themselves.
“Parents were begging,” he said. “I’d wake up to 50 new emails asking what was happening.”
The missing piece fell into place Tuesday and Nadeau said he thinks the three locations in the village will now work out for each group to have a base where they can spend time and be close enough to walk to other activities.
St. Leo’s can accommodate up to four groups and youngsters will have outdoor space on site and on the grassy lawn at the state office complex next door. Nadeau said fewer state workers in their offices will make the area relatively quiet this summer. He also will arrange for water from a nearby hydrant that counselors will be able to use for sprinklers and hoses for water play on hot days.
Meanwhile Nadeau said he hopes to set up water slides at Dac Rowe Park for the older kids to enjoy after a short walk from the Methodist Church. Campers also will have access to the Winooski River from a trail at the park. Some staffers are cross-trained as lifeguards which will come in handy for water outings, he said.
Also on the summer recreation schedule from the town were several weeklong mini-camps that Nadeau has canceled because they were to run at Crossett Brook school. The two outdoor camps – soccer and tennis – are still on and can be done in compliance with health guidelines, he said.
Not a good summer for the pool
While it’s good news that camp is a go, the bad news around the corner is the likely decision to keep the town pool closed for the season. Nadeau has already recommended to the Select Board that it not open and the board last week said it would make the official call at its meeting next week.
Other public pools in Vermont are already closed for the season, Nadeau said, such as the pool at Button Bay State Park and several other municipal pools.
The guidelines and economics are to blame, Nadeau said. State guidelines limit the number of people allowed in a pool, yet staffing cannot be cut back below normal levels for safety based on the size of the pool. For example, three lifeguards and one staffer at the check-in desk are the minimum needed at the Waterbury pool, regardless of how many swimmers are present, he explained.
Nadeau said the pool typically is a popular destination for other recreation programs in nearby communities, too, but most are not planning to transport children on buses this summer.
Down time for the pool may mean time for some maintenance and repairs there, Nadeau said, depending on his time this summer.
The likely pool closure and a decision by the Vermont Swim Association organization that runs youth swim competitions means the Waterbury Rapids swim team program will also be suspended this summer, Nadeau said.
Waterbury's town pool is a magnet for children in local summer recreation programs and camps. Kids and adults alike will likely need to find other spots to cool off this summer. File photo by Gordon Miller.
One bright spot: Swim lessons will still happen at the Waterbury Reservoir State Park day use area in Waterbury Center. Nadeau said he has been making arrangements and is notifying families with children enrolled in lessons of the change. Lesson times may be rescheduled and there’s still time for families to register.
“This will help us meet our community need for water safety instruction,” Nadeau said.
It’s hard to say how many youngsters the town camp will have this summer. Naadeau said he’s been communicating with families to update them on the new guidelines -- counselors for example will be wearing masks while masks will be recommended but not required for the children.
“I want to be up front with parents” so they know what to expect and can decide what’s best for their kids, he said.
Nadeau said he’s especially mindful that camp should be safe and fun and he wants to be sure counselors aren’t put in a position to discipline kids for what they would usually consider normal behavior when they are in a group and naturally in close contact. “Little kids in the K-3 age group see their friends … some kids won’t get it,” he said.
Nadeau said any parents who want to change plans and cancel their child’s registration will receive a full refund. “I’ve had about 13 spots open up already, but others are calling,” he said.
Other programs wrestling with new rules, meeting spaces
Other summer youth camp operators are making decisions based on the public health guidelines. Some are getting creative and others have called off their programs, sending parents looking for new options.
The Greater Burlington YMCA’s popular Camp Koda last week announced that it would not run its Waterbury camp this summer. The camp intended to use Thatcher Brook Primary School as its base as it has in past years but the school district’s announcement nixed that plan.
“We are, of course, disappointed. That said, we respect the difficult decision of our partner,” said Doug Bishop, marketing and community engagement director for the YMCA.
Bishop said that this year’s enrollment for the camp was a little behind with just 23 youngsters signed up so far. Last year, he said at this time there were more than 30 and it filled up with 52 children by the time camp opened.
“It was understandable that registrations were lagging this year with the current apprehension,” Bishop said.
Likewise, other programs that count on school buildings need to come up with new plans.
Jason Bahner’s popular Wheels Around Waterbury bike camp is in its 18th season this year. The weeklong camps have kids mainly outside but they usually work out of one of the local schools, most recently the cafeteria space at Crossett Brook Middle School close to the Perry Hill mountain bike trails.
Bahner last week said camp is still on with modifications given the Covid guidelines. His campers will meet outside the Ice Center and head out from there every day. Typical groups divided by ability – beginner, intermediate, advanced – already meet state guidelines for numbers, he said.
He and staff will wear masks which will be optional for campers. Bahner said the nature of bike camp will make it relatively easy for kids to limit close contact. “And we’ll have lots of hand sanitizer,” he said.
One difference this year may mean that there aren’t indoor movies on the rare days when the weather keeps riders off the trails. “If there’s inclement weather, we may just have no camp that day,” Bahner said.
The biggest change Bahner has made this year was the tough decision to cancel the camp week for the youngest riders in the bike basics group. “It’s heartbreaking but I didn’t feel it was in everyone’s best interest,” he said, explaining that kids just learning to ride without training wheels may not easily understand distancing and contact rules.
Even those who run kids programs in their own year-round space still need to get creative.
“Small and safe is our motto for the summer!” said Jenna Companion, co-director of Green Mountain Performing Arts.
The dance studio has summer camps scheduled from late June through July and adjustments have been made to cap enrollment to 10 students per group, Companion said.
To give everyone more space, instructors will be spending time with students outdoors as much as possible, she said. Since the new guidelines have come out, Companion said there have been both cancellations and new sign-ups with a few openings still available.
Next door to the dance studio, Central Vermont Gymnastics Academy will reopen June 15 just for camps, according to director Anissa Davis, who said there are still openings available.
“We are going to have many new safety measures in place,” Davis said, noting groups will be capped at 10 per instructor with just two groups per week.
Gymnastics campers often spent part of the day at the gym and part at the Waterbury Reservoir. Davis said she’s not sure if trips to the beach will happen this summer.
Nadeau said everyone running summer programs for kids wants their programs to still be fun despite the concerns for public health that have dominated daily life since mid-March.
“I can understand if some people feel they won’t get what they paid for,” Nadeau said. “No one signed up for Covid, so let’s make the best of the situation.”