Family Leisure Centre, Library open to public with new precautions

“We’re excited, a little nervous, and just really happy that we have our customers, friends, and neighbours back in the building with us,” said Feser.

At the Family Leisure Centre, their first phase of re-opening began with access granted to the Cenovus Arena and South Country Co-Op Fitness Centre.

Traffic in the gym was steady for much of Monday according to the City’s general manager of parks and recreation James Will with staff prepared for the influx of users.

This included spacing out equipment six feet from each other and closing half of the running track, along with increased sanitization and cleaning methods.

“You’ll notice if you go onto a piece of cardio equipment, there will be a little tag on there,” said Will. “If you take that off and throw it down on the ground to do your workout, if the staff notice that hasn’t been cleaned, they’ll go over to those machines first and will focus their cleaning efforts on that.”

Next Monday, the City is planning to open the Kinsmen Aquatic Park with pre-registration for use of the public swim and lane swim times.

The following weeks will see the openings of the FLC’s gymnasium and field house.

The City of Medicine Hat froze all FLC memberships and their respective payments when the facility closed in March and the plan remains to keep current memberships frozen for the near future.

A new discounted ‘Stay Safe’ pass has been made available for facility users through the end of August, which will provide access to the FLC and outdoor pools.

“They might go and wander around the building, which obviously now creates a problem for keeping people apart and creating that physical distancing,” said Will. “So, we knew that we had to do something for our users that were regular supporters and we felt this was a good option for them to see good value for their money, recognizing that they’re not quite getting the same amenities that they had before.”

Those with weeks or even months remaining on their frozen memberships will be allowed to use up that remaining time when the usual membership program is re-introduced by the City.

Back at the library, access to seating areas and public internet access have been limited to encourage short trips through the facility.

“You can come in and browse the collection just the same way as you used to,” said Feser. “We will have some material out as browsing collection, so we’ll have our displays out and that sort of thing. But, we do ask that people limit the time that they’re in and there’s really nothing to do except get those books and check them out.”

Along with arrows and floor markings directing customers, everyone who enters the library is encouraged to use hand sanitizer.

Photo courtesy of Colton McKee

A capacity limit of 20 customers at once is being observed by the Medicine Hat Public Library, though that number isn’t at the province’s 50-person maximum and could be increased in the coming weeks.

The library had to lay off about two-thirds of its staff at the peak of the pandemic and while the majority of those workers have been hired back, there is still some work to do on that end.

“Most are back but not all,” said Feser. “For me especially, we are not done this process until we get every single person back. So, we have a little ways to go with that.”

Medicine Hat’s outdoor swim areas will be re-opening in the coming days as well, with the Strathcona Pool set to open on Friday and the swim area at Echo Dale expected to be full again on July 17.

by Scott Roblin

Family Leisure Centre, Library open to public with new precautions

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