MERCER COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — The pool at Anderson Dean Park has faced maintenance challenges in recent years.
"Pool maintenance wasn't kept up the way it should have been kept," said Stephen Ransdell, park director.
Ransdell said he's learned from past mistakes and now has everything running smoothly. But he's not just focusing on fixing wear and tear – he's working to make more meaningful changes as well.
This will be the pool's first full summer being open since 2019, and they are trying to find ways to include everyone.
"We've noticed over time that kids and adults are signing in. We didn't have a lot of people to enjoy the pool with disabilities," Ransdell said.
Ransdell came up with the idea to dedicate specific time for those with disabilities, and Tuesday was their day. With a smaller crowd, everyone was able to splash around and enjoy the water.
"Some kids get overstimulated to where they can't enjoy what they really want to do. This gives them that opportunity to do without the extra noise," said parent Lindsey Mathews.
While everyone had fun, the special swim time also made it safer for everyone to enjoy the water.
"Normally it's very difficult to keep my eye on my child, but with less people here and everyone in the same mindset of keeping the kids and adults safe," said another parent Ashley Crowly.
Ransdell will take the same approach as he did when he got the pool up and running, by continuing to learn to make things better.
"When I see that, it makes me feel good that we are building something here that everyone can enjoy. And this just makes it even better," Ransdell said.
The special needs swim will be every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. until the end of summer at Anderson Dean Park.
