SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the Sacramento heat becomes unbearable, some families resort to community pools and splash pads to stay cool, but it's currently not an option for some people in the Del Paso Heights neighborhood.
Just like everyone else this summer, Carinda Goodall wants to beat the heat. She used to go to Mama Marks Play Pool with her kids at the corner of Roanoke Avenue and Haywood Street.
"I would bring them here almost every day — when the pool was open — to play," said Goodall. "We would BBQ and things like that so it was fun, but with the pool not being open, nobody is going to come. Why are you going to come here just to sit in the heat?"
The city closed the play pool at Mama Marks Park in 2018 for several reasons, including "low participation, a lifeguard shortage and ongoing maintenance issues with an aging facility."
"City staff have worked in recent years to identify funding to convert the play pool to a more inclusive and accessible splash pad that will allow for expanded hours of operations," said Gabby Miller with the City of Sacramento. "Staff also identified funding to deliver additional improvements at Mama Marks Park and other parks in the north area."
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Some of the improvements made at Mama Marks Park include a parking lot, basketball court, soccer field improvements, new accessible walkways, security cameras and site furnishings.
District 2 councilmember Sean Loloee blames the COVID-19 pandemic for the play pool at Mama Marks Park still being closed. He says the renovations are taking longer than expected because of backorders with some products.
"Unfortunately, we got hit with COVID and everything shut down worldwide," said Loloee. "These are not products that are typically kept as an inventory locally, so they had to be ordered and there was a delay on that."
Renovations at Mama Marks Park will start late fall or early winter 2023, with an anticipated completion of Memorial Day 2024. Until then, the city recommends people go to other pools to stay cool like Grant Union High, Robertson Play Pool, Doyle Pool, Johnston Pool, Strawberry Manor Spray Park and other facilities.
"It saddens me because it feels like we're forgotten about," said Goodall. "There's nowhere around here for us to swim, like Grant has the bigger pool but that's for bigger kids. What about the little kids?"
Sacramento operates 12 pools, four play pools and the North Natomas Aquatics Complex. Southside Pool is the only pool currently closed for renovations as it needs to be resurfaced and it's expected to reopen next year.
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