Kinsmen Water Park Shuts down

Prince Albert’s popular Kinsmen Water Park is shown in this undated file image. (CTV News Prince Albert)

Prince Albert’s popular Kinsmen Water Park is already closed for the season.

The Kinsmen Water Park is one of Prince Albert’s busiest summer attractions. But with two weeks to go before students head back to school, and temperatures hovering in the mid-20’s, the park is already closed. That has left some in the community wondering why the park isn’t being kept open a little longer.

Calvin Reid says his two young sons have spent a lot of time at the water park this summer

"They absolutely love it...so we have utilized it quite a bit this summer."

The pool has already been drained for the season and Greg Zeeben, the city’s Director of Community Services, says there are a number of reasons the park is closing now.

“It's our regular time to shut down. We shut down because a lot of our staff go back to University. So we're losing staff and it also gives us time to do a lot of the maintenance work that we need to do on a facility that is now 26 years old.”

Temperatures are forecasted to remain in the high 20's for the rest of the week -- and that has Reid wishing the park was still open for his children to enjoy.

"You know, it's unfortunate. Personally I think they should have modified hours. In the evenings it's pretty cold. My wife took my kids last week and it was getting cool in the evenings. But during the day, we could be there today. It'd be gorgeous to be in there on a hot day like today."

Zeeben says the city has to plan the schedule months in advance and they can’t always count on Mother Nature to be on their side.

"We schedule our shutdowns and it usually works for us and sometimes the weather just makes it seem silly. But there is some background thought that goes into why we shut down when we do."

He also points out the Frank Dunn Pool is re-opening this week so people will still have a chance to swim. But Reid says an indoor pool just isn’t the same.

"It's nice to be outside. When the weather's nice you need to be outside. Summer is short enough around here."

The doors are locked and the pool is now undergoing its annual maintenance. It will re-open again in the Spring of 2013.