I grew up in Tallmadge and my parents are currently residents. This year they purchased passes to the new Maca Pool facility. Part of their intention is to take their grandchildren swimming this summer.

Last Sunday, we took our children and joined my parents for a day at the pool. The pool itself is a wonderful facility, and my children enjoyed themselves very much. I'm guessing that the pool itself is at least three times larger than the previous Maca facility. Plenty of area for younger children to play in the zero depth entry areas, water slides and deeper water for the older children. Overall, a very nice pool. However, as a parent of two small children, there are a couple of things that bothered me about the facility as a whole.

First, I was told to bring chairs, as the pool does not have any? I was quite surprised, having been to many pool facilities, which have all provided chairs. My wife and I had our hands full as we tried to herd our children, carry chairs, carry a cooler, a bag of towels and stuff, and push a stroller from the parking lot and into the pool area. This was made more difficult as we tried to squeeze past the temporary barriers separating the entryway from the restrooms, in the common hall area they share. This makes for a great inconvenience, particularly for older patrons, or patrons with children.

Secondly, the restrooms themselves seemed on the small side for such a large facility. There are only three stalls in the womens' and one urinal and two stalls in the mens'. Each time we took the children to the bathroom, we had to wait, even though the pool was not very busy (the day was cooler and cloudy). There are three showers in each restroom, although there were no shower curtains? There is precious little space to change (no changing area), and no privacy to change in, unless you used a toilet stall. For some reason, the family bathroom was usually occupied as well. We all had to sit in wet bathing suits for the car ride home, since when we were leaving, many other people were as well, and there was no place to change.

As a parent, I think it is very dangerous to have the restroom entrances in the same hall area as the entryway. It would be entirely too easy for a younger child to slip out of the enclosed pool area unnoticed, perhaps making their way across the parking lot to the playground. I would hate to see a child get hurt or lost on a trip to the restroom.

While at the pool, I noticed there were only 3 or 4 garbage cans and no recycling facilities. As a result, we carried much of our garbage home with us to recycle later. When we were leaving, I noticed several bicycles laying in the grass and on the sidewalks. Apparently, bicycle racks were missing as well.

It is a shame that such a nice pool is being brought down by the facility around it. I will fondly remember the previous Maca park that had plenty of space in the restrooms for changing, plenty of chairs around the pool, and a large enclosed area, with a playground for the children to use while out of the water. I have suggested to my parents that if they wish to purchase a pool pass next year, they do so at a facility that offers the amenities that we expect to be present. Based on what I experienced at the new Maca pool, I suspect that membership will be much lower next year. What a waste of a wonderful pool.

Sincerely,

Len Palmer

4859 Firwood Dr, N. Canton, OH 330-899-1193