BANDY CREEK — The Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area is proposing to make the swimming pool at the Bandy Creek Campground financially viable for the 2014 summer season in part by eliminating season family pool passes.
In a release Thursday, the Big South Fork announced that it was proposing the change after “actively researching options for opening the Bandy Creek swimming pool next season.”
The financially-strapped pool did not open in 2013, and the closure was blamed on sequestration — automated federal budget cuts implemented after the president and Congress failed to come to terms on spending reductions.
[s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)]To continue reading, please subscribe to the Independent Herald. If you are already a subscriber, email subscriptions@ihoneida.com to receive login credentials. If you are a subscriber who is logged in and believe you are seeing this message in error, please email subscriptions@ihoneida.com or call 423-569-6343.[/s2If]
[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)]Visitation to the Bandy Creek Campground has been down significantly in 2013. A big part of the reduced visitation is blamed on the pool’s closure.
According to the park’s written release, “It has been determined that if the park does not sustain any further budget reductions and the family season pool passes are discontinued, the pool will be able to be open next summer.”
The park says that the elimination of the family passes will “allow the pool to be open at least on a part-time basis.”
The move comes just weeks after the park proposed increasing the fees for the two group camps at the Bandy Creek Campground from $75 to $125.[/s2If]
