Trenton’s crowded pools offer city opportunity to reach out to residents (LA PARKER COLUMN)

The wading pool at Hetzel Pool on Monday. (John Berry/The Trentonian)

Paul Harris, a Trenton recreation employee, estimates that more than 800 water enthusiasts visit Hetzel Pool daily.

Let’s say Hetzel is open for 80 days in the summer. That’s 64,000 people, many of them regulars, enjoying themselves and having fun. Now imagine the potential for outsourcing information to these city residents.

City officials and agencies are sitting on a goldmine. In fact, nonprofits and other organizations that serve a multitude of social services should move their offices to the pool during the summer months.

Trenton needs to educate residents about a wide range of issues, including health, recreation, education, bullying, mental illness, food insecurity, immigration, housing and more. With pools open at four other locations — Cooper, Father Rocco, Martin Luther King and Roberto Clemente — think of all those people, including parents and students, waiting for information about, say, school registration. Yes, school just closed for the summer, but September is just around the corner.

Residents need information, especially on how to keep Trenton clean. The situation is approaching a state of emergency as people litter on city streets and unreliable street sweepers make the problem worse.

Raise your hand if seeing someone open their car door and then throw their trash on the street makes you nervous. One of my personal annoyances is people throwing baby diapers on the street. I picked up a weighted diaper on Wednesday morning during a street cleanup.

A message could inform residents to stop this behavior and not throw food on the streets. Residents could also be informed that 3 (South Ward), 10 (North), 17 (East) and 24 (West) are pickup dates as part of a citywide cleanup.

For the record, being clean should be a way of life, a no-frills exercise that should garner only minimal recognition. Personal pride is formed as a residue of maintaining a clean house or dwelling.

Imagine this message being delivered to every municipal pool for over two months. Trenton residents feel transformed by receiving valuable instruction and information on a regular basis.

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I have received many messages regarding a column about how many Trenton residents, especially young people, have limited water skills.

A reader noted that knowing how to swim is a graduation requirement for students at Trenton Central High School.

What happened? I don’t know how such a valuable skill disappeared from life’s toolbox. One solution to making progress in this life-threatening area is to (drum roll, please) implement a swim week.

For one week, preferably in June, all the city’s swimming pools will offer swimming lessons for children and adults between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.

This initiative could generate interest and alleviate fears of being in the water as participants will learn the basics such as breathing, floating, kicking, etc. Progress will generate interest and further development that will continue throughout the summer.

We have a responsibility to teach children to read, swim, learn and acquire a multitude of other life skills.

Let’s go swimming in Trenton!

LA Parker is a columnist for the Trentonian. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at [email protected].