In a typical year, Centennial Beach opens to the public the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. However, this year, with the governor’s current stay at home order in effect, the Naperville Park District has pushed back its opening date by four weeks.
“There are too many variables right now in light of the COVID-19 pandemic for us to reasonably say that it will be business as usual come Memorial Day weekend,” explained Ray McGury, executive director of the Naperville Park District. “Our primary focus at the beach is about safety and this current situation just adds another layer of safety-related concerns to be addressed.”
The June 20 opening date provides the Park District with the opportunity to gather additional information or guidelines from public health organizations regarding aquatics operations for the summer season.
The Park District continues to move forward with the hiring of staff for the facility, including lifeguards, swim lesson instructors and guest services attendants. Parks staff members, who normally begin working on maintenance procedures in March to get the facility ready for its late May opening, have deferred this process to later this month. There is annual required cleaning and maintenance that needs to be performed even though it’s possible that the facility could remain closed for the season. Centennial Beach staff training, which typically begins in April, will be postponed until late May.
Picture Source: Naperville Park District
