BUCKHANNON – The Upshur County Commission voted to have the Upshur County Recreational Park open May 28 and tentatively close Aug. 6.

Upshur County Recreational Park Facilities Director Adam Brumley attended the Jan. 13 Upshur County Commission meeting to discuss hours and fee structures for the 2022 season.

“Functionality-wise, I think the timeframe worked very well and I think from a business standpoint, it is good to utilize all the time can because we only have a couple of months to make a profit, so I didn’t make any adjustments towards the schedule – I think it was fine,” Brumley said.

The entrance fees and costs associated with park use will remain the same.

“We’ve been told many times by other communities that we could raise our pool admission, but as of right now, I don’t think that’s a wise decision, and I base that off of just things going on in the world,” Brumley said. “I just want you guys to be aware that we’ve been told many times that we could raise that, but I just don’t think right now is the opportune moment.”

The park will also be utilizing a new scheduling software, RecDesk, that will go live Monday, Jan. 17.

“It’s actually functioning right now; I’ve been testing it all week, finding a couple of bugs here and there that we’ve been fixing along the way,” Brumley said. “I think they’re fixing one more thing and then we’re good to go. We just need to release that URL code to the public.”

“Right now, I have the reservations for swim lessons delayed until about two weeks before opening, which is May 28,” Brumley said. “By then we will have all of our lifeguards and see exactly what we’re working with. We have also set up enrollment, minimum or maximum for the programs. Right now, it’s about 10 for each lesson, but that can be easily changed. We just need to see what kind of personnel we have.”

The closing date of Aug. 6 could be modified if staff are available to keep the park open longer.

“I definitely agree with closing that first week of August,” Brumley said. “I know a lot of people aren’t happy with that, but when it comes down to personnel, we just didn’t have enough lifeguards towards the end. We’re scraping by and we’re not the only county that’s run into that problem.

The hours of operation will be Monday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. at $5 per person, $3 after 3 p.m. and $2 after 5 p.m. On Sundays and Family Fun Days, the park and pool will be open from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. at a rate of $3 per person. Children two years old or younger won’t be charged an admission fee.

Season pool passes will be available for $120 for an individual pass, and each additional pass for immediate family is discounted by 50 percent. One-day pool passes in books of five are available for $20.

Pool parties may be scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at a rate of $200 for under 40 people; $225 for 40 to 80 people; and $250 for 80-plus people.

Group swim lessons will be offered Monday through Friday for $50 per week and private lessons for children under four years of age or by request will be $15 per session.

Lap swimming will be available Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. A season pass for lap swimming is $50 each or $3 per day. Water aerobics will be offered Monday and Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. starting June 1 for $5 per session. Shelter rentals will be $50 for a large rental and $25 for a small one. For more information, check out the park’s website here.