MUSCATINE, Iowa—For the Muscatine Community Y, Governor Reynold’s closure of all gyms and recreational facilities to the public drastically changed their day to day operations. However, it did provide an unexpected opportunity for Y staff to make improvements to benefit members once they return. As Marketing and Fund Development Director Nicole McCleary explained it, “we would much rather be able to say we could be open to our members and say it’s business as usual, but the silver lining is we can do a lot of deep cleaning and little projects.”
To assure community members that they Y will provide a safe place to work out again once the COVID-19 closures end, Y staff took the time to thoroughly clean the equipment in their facility. McCleary detailed that each exercise machine, yoga mat, cubby, locker, and toy in the Kid’s Adventure Zone.
Along with fully sanitizing their facility, the Y has also made upgrades to their small pool. Over the course of several days, they drained, cleaned, installed new filter covers, and refilled the 30-thousand-gallon pool, a process that would usually interrupt swim classes and open pool times. The pool pump room also underwent routine maintenance.
Because Y staff would like the facility to look its best when guests return, they will also touch up paint, wash windows, and update their outdoor deck and bocce ball court.
Though the Y staff would prefer to continue serving their members and the community, they hope the temporary closures, and the updates they made during them, will remind Muscatine just how much the Y offers to them. “I hope this unusual situation teaches us we have a lot of things to be thankful for,” mused McCleary.
