The Butler YMCA plans to open up the pool at ARMCO Park in Slippery Rock Township this summer after a two-year-long hiatus.

The park itself will be open for the 2022 season from June 4 to Aug. 28. Planned hours for the pool are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Sandra Ihlenfeld, executive director at Butler YMCA, said the loosening of COVID-19-related restrictions made opening the pool more feasible this year, and described it as “a big step forward.”

“We are really giving it 100% of our effort,” she said. “It will depend on whether we can get enough lifeguards.”

Fielding enough lifeguards to monitor pools has been a “big problem in Butler County” for the past two years, she said, a sentiment echoed by managers at public pools across the county.

Ihlenfeld said the YMCA raised the hourly rate for lifeguards at the ARMCO pool to $10, and will reimburse lifeguards for passing their certification.

“Once you’re a lifeguard here, there is no cost for training, and we even pay you for the time in training,” she said.