City of Wagga Wagga Mayor Councillor Greg Conkey OAM is reminding community members that an existing policy guides a declaration of free entry for the Oasis Regional Aquatic Centre.
Council will only declare free entry for the facility when the Bureau of Meteorology displays a forecast for 41 degrees Celsius or above before 2pm the day prior.
If the BOM’s prediction changes after 2pm, unfortunately free entry will not apply.
“Setting the cut off at 2pm is to ensure additional lifeguards can be rostered on to cope with the expected influx of additional visitors,” Councillor Conkey said.
“We will declare a free day through Council’s social media channels.
“I would encourage community members to follow Council’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages to receive those updates.
“We will communicate free days to the public, in advance, to alleviate any confusion.”
Councillor Conkey is also calling on community members taking advantage of the pool to show more respect towards staff and patrons.
He said he’s been shocked and disappointed by the level of disrespect shown towards Council staff and visitors inside the facility and the amount of anti-social behaviour that has been observed in the past 48 hours.
He said there is no excuse for behaviour that shows a lack of consideration for other people, violates the basic rights of staff or other patrons or causes disruptions within the facility.
“We know it’s very hot, people are flustered and frustrated but that is no excuse for poor judgement, anti-social behaviour or abuse towards staff or other patrons… it will not be tolerated,” Councillor Conkey said.
“The aim of declaring free entry is to make it easier for our community members to escape the conditions.
“It’s not a free pass for unacceptable behaviour.
“Depending on the severity of the behaviour, people can be excluded or banned from returning to the facility for a set period of time.”
According Oasis figures, 1605 people visited the facility yesterday – roughly 600 more than an average Thursday in December.
