By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

Jace Smith, a fair-haired 2-year-old from Webb City, was getting a little pink Wednesday after having some fun in the sun at the Ewert Family Aquatic Center in Joplin.

Amber Smith, his mother, said, “We can only swim for a couple of hours before it gets too much for him.”

Jace is probably not the only tyke to get a little too much sun this summer at Joplin’s public pools. Despite rainy weather early in the pool season, attendance is way up over that of last year.

What’s driving the increase is not clear, but the head of Joplin’s city pools, Paul Bloomberg, speculates it might have something to do with the price of gasoline.

“My thinking is it has something to do with the cost of gas,” he said. “I think people are trying to save their dollars by finding things to do in town. And, we have had this increase after having had a lot of rain earlier in the year.”

Smith said: “That (the price of gasoline) is a big deal. Instead of going to the water park in Branson, we’re swimming closer to home.”

As of Wednesday, Joplin’s public pools had served 22,835 patrons this season. That compares with 18,477 at this time last year.

The 23.5 percent increase could help the city’s budget this year. Last year, the city spent about $140,000 subsidizing the cost of operations at Ewert, Cunningham and Schifferdecker pools, according to Leslie Jones, the city’s finance director.

“We spent $140,000 more on expenses than revenue last year for our pools,” she said. “This increase in attendance will help the city budget. The subsidy will be less this year, but how much less is not known. The season is halfway over at this point.”

Jones said the increase in participation probably stems from “people staying here and not going on vacation this summer.”

Joplin’s pools should stay busy for the next couple of weeks if the extended weather forecast holds together.

Gene Hatch, climate specialist for the National Weather Service station at Springfield, said: “We can expect to see hot temperatures and relatively dry conditions for the next one to two weeks. There will be some afternoon thunderstorms.”

High humidity could make the air feel warmer than it actually is. Heat index readings of 96 to 101 degrees are forecast for today.