In non-coronavirus times, Bowling Green city staff would be busy preparing for the opening of one of the most widely used city facilities.

Instead, the Russell Sims Aquatic Center at Preston Miller Park, which draws as many as 75,000 visitors each summer, remains shuttered.

Even as other public facilities gradually reopen across the state, public pools are not currently included in plans for reopening any time soon.

“We are still in a wait-and-see mode,” said Brent Belcher, director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

The center normally opens Memorial Day weekend.

“We know the opening will be delayed, at the very least,” he said.

The facility, which is open 75 days a year, averages about 1,000 visitors a day.

Even if public pools are given the green light, Belcher said it would take a while for the center to open its gates, since staffing would be a bigger issue than physically reopening the facility.

Along with having to find workers, “we can’t train lifeguards right now,” he said, meaning there would be a lag of at least a few weeks between getting the OK to reopen and being able to do so.

“We’d look to open as quick as we can,” Belcher said.

Along with losing a popular spot for local residents to beat the summer heat, the continuing closure of the facility would take a financial toll on the parks department as well.

While he did not have immediate access to past revenue figures, Belcher said revenue lost “would be pretty significant,” with the center trailing only the city golf courses as revenue generators for the city’s parks department.

The cost to run the facility, however, is also significant so the closure would not have a dramatic impact on net revenue for the department.

City golf courses are open, with some restrictions.

The center has seen recent renovations, with a new entry building and larger bathrooms to handle larger crowds – which happens to be the exact thing that might keep the facility from reopening this year.

The center is, by design, “where large groups come together on a daily basis,” Belcher said.

In his daily briefings, Gov. Andy Beshear has fielded many questions on public pool reopenings, saying it would be hard for such facilities to reopen and follow the measures needed to slow spread of the coronavirus.

Last month, Lexington announced it will not reopen its public pools this year based on the advice of health officials.

Even if restrictions are eased on public gatherings, the city will still have to determine “how or if it will be possible to reopen” the center, Belcher said.