A sign at the Hermiston Family Aquatic Center on May 13, 2020, advises that the facility is hiring summer staff and lifeguards.

HERMISTON — The Hermiston Family Aquatic Center will open this summer, but operations will look much different than in years past.

Aquatic centers and swimming pools are allowed to open in counties under Phase 2 reopening guidelines, but some, such as the Pendleton Aquatic Center, are opting to stay closed due to budget concerns.

Hermiston Parks and Recreation Director Larry Fetter said, like everywhere that is reopening, there will be new guidelines in place.

Groups of up to 10 people will be able to reserve a 90-minute chunk of time at the pool, with cleanings between sessions. In the mornings, each group that arrives together will be given a zone of the pool that they must stay in, keeping everyone far apart. In the afternoons, groups will be allowed to roam around more, but a dedicated staff member will be in charge of making sure they stay more than 6 feet apart from anyone not wearing a wristband of the same color as the rest of their party.

In the beginning, only the competitive pool will be open, and the multi-use pool with water slides will be off-limits. Fetter said as they get a handle on things, other areas of the pool, along with swimming lessons, will be added.

“This is how we will start the season, but it’s not how we will end it,” he said.

Concessions will be closed, but staff are relaxing rules on what food and drink can be brought from home. Fetter said they will not be opening the locker rooms “because of the volume of cleaning that would be required,” but there will be two individual changing rooms with toilets available for restroom use.

Fetter said many of their lifeguards they recruited in the spring have since taken other jobs, so by the time they recruit and train sufficient staff, it will probably be about June 24 before they open the aquatic center.

“The good news is there are Pendleton lifeguards that are interested in coming to work for us,” he said.

The free splash pad located in Butte Park will also open up, but will be treated like a playground instead of an aquatic center, meaning people will be expected to police themselves on social distancing.