parks

Instead of closing in August, pools will stay open through October 31st

Cerritos, CA — Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn is encouraging residents to take advantage of LA County’s extended pool season. While in past years, LA County pools closed in mid-August, this year pools will be open through October 31st.

“The warm weather isn’t over, and neither is LA County’s pool season,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn who led the effort to keep pools open longer. “It never made sense that our pools used to close in mid-August, and I am grateful that with the support of my colleagues and the hard work of our Parks and Recreation Department, we are keeping our pools open to the public through Halloween.”

In years past, LA County’s summer pool season was just ten weeks long with the vast majority of pools closing in mid-August. Supervisor Hahn pushed for the pool season to be extended and this is the first year that pools are open 6-days a week and will stay open through the end of October. The pool schedules have been adjusted slightly for the fall season and can be found here.

To make this new swim season possible, LA County Parks and Recreation, which manages a total of 41 pools across 30 locations countywide, pushed to recruit more pool lifeguards than ever before and Hahn wore an LA County Lifeguard uniform to highlight their success. Hahn led an effort to increase the starting pay for pool lifeguards by 20% to $23.86 hourly and the department worked to streamline the hiring process.  This year, the department hired 356 new pool lifeguards and rehired 224 returning lifeguards — totaling close to 600 pool lifeguards.

The County also invested in new lighting at pools to ensure swimmers can enjoy the pools even as the sun rises later and sets earlier in the fall. Activities available at LA County pools include low-cost swim team programs, senior aquatic exercise, and a first-ever Summer Parks After Dark pool events series, among others.

A complete list of Los Angeles County pool facilities can be found at: parks.lacounty.gov/aquatics

Season extended from ten weeks to five months, six days a week

Cerritos, CA – This afternoon, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn welcomed residents to the Don Knabe Regional Park Pool for a press conference and pool party to kick-off the County’s pool season. Hahn pushed to extend the traditional ten-week pool season, and this year, LA County public pools will be open six days a week for five months from June through October 31.

“Some of our hottest days come in September and October, but under our old ten-week swim season, our pools were locked up and out of reach of residents by then. That made no sense,” said Hahn, who led the Board of Supervisors in extending the swim season. “Now everyone from kids to seniors will be able to make the most of their local pool and everything they offer.”

Today’s pool party included music, giveaways, and free refreshments. After a brief program to open the event, Hahn blew a lifeguard’s whistle and opened the pool to families in attendance.

“This summer, we are thrilled to reopen all our pools for the first time in 5 years and present an exciting lineup of aquatic programs for everyone,” said Norma E. García-Gonzalez, Director of LA County Parks. “Our team has grown with over 580 new lifeguards, ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for all. We aim to make swimming accessible and fun, promote essential water safety skills, and provide a vibrant, cool space for the community to stay active. Join us for a unforgettable aquatic season at LA County Parks!”

To make this new swim season possible, LA County Parks and Recreation, which manages a total of 41 pools across 30 locations countywide, pushed to recruit more pool lifeguards than ever before and Hahn wore an LA County Lifeguard uniform to highlight their success. Hahn led an effort to increase the starting pay for pool lifeguards by 20% to $23.86 hourly and the department worked to streamline the hiring process. This year, the department hired 356 new pool lifeguards and rehired 224 returning lifeguards — totaling close to 600 pool lifeguards.

The County also invested in new lighting at pools to ensure swimmers can enjoy the pools even as the sun rises later and sets earlier in the fall. Activities available at LA County pools include low-cost swim team programs, senior aquatic exercise, and a first-ever Summer Parks After Dark pool events series, among others.

A complete list of Los Angeles County pool facilities can be found at: parks.lacounty.gov/aquatics

Photo files:
File 1
File 2
File 3
File 4

The agreement revives innovative “School by day, park on nights and weekends” model in dense Southeast LA community

Hahn’s motion opens the door to Parks programming in the school’s playground and multi-use field (in yellow)

Walnut Park, CA – Yesterday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion by Supervisor Janice Hahn that opens the door to continued and expanded shared use by the County of a Los Angeles Unified School District campus in Southeast LA. The Walnut Park Elementary School campus already hosts a nature park operated by the County’s Department of Parks and Recreation on evenings and weekends. Yesterday’s motion authorizes the Department to initiate a new agreement with LAUSD that would extend the agreement for use of the nature park for ten years and also expand it to include the school’s playground and multi-use field.

“Like so many of our other dense urban communities, Walnut Park has nowhere else to build a space for sports and recreation, so we have to get creative. On evenings and weekends, this huge site in the heart of Walnut Park is locked up out of reach for families who have few other open spaces to turn to,” said Hahn. “We are ready to deliver sports and events to our residents here as soon as this agreement is finalized.”

Once the agreement is approved by LAUSD, the County plans to establish sports programs on the site within the coming months. The community, among the ten most densely-populated in LA County, currently has no sports facilities. In December, Hahn inaugurated the community’s first full-time County park, Nogales Park, a half-acre site a few blocks away.

Despite the community’s name, its park space is significantly lower than the countywide average.

“Thanks to Supervisor Hahn’s leadership, the Walnut Park community will continue to enjoy Walnut Nature Park for years to come,” said Norma E. García-González, Director of the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation. “Walnut Nature Park provides critical greenspace and access to nature in one of the most park-poor communities in the County of Los Angeles. Walnut Nature Park will offer free after-school programming, community special events and cultural celebrations, youth and adult fitness and sports programming that includes basketball and soccer. Parks do make life better in Walnut Park.”

Los Angeles County and LAUSD first entered into an agreement to share the school site in the late 1990s, when a first-of-its-kind Joint Use Agreement (JUA) was signed. This JUA was the first for LAUSD and has been a model and template for future JUAs. In 2001, then-Supervisor Gloria Molina inaugurated the new park. The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education must now also vote to approve the new agreement.

Hahn has extended County pool season from ten weeks to six months

Cerritos, CA – Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn is announcing that the public pool at Don Knabe Regional Park in Cerritos will be getting extensive lighting installed in coming weeks. This is part of Supervisor Hahn’s work to extend the pool season through the end of October.

“We all know that the warm weather doesn’t end in August and our pool season shouldn’t either,” said Supervisor Hahn. “I am keeping our County pools, including the pool at Knabe Park, open through October and we are installing new lighting so people can swim in the evenings.”

The Don Knabe Community Regional Park Pool Lighting Remodel Project will include installation of underwater lighting, upgrade of existing deck lighting, security lighting and emergency lighting. Construction will start March 4th and will be completed before the pool opens in May.

The LA County Department of Parks and Recreation manages 30 pools countywide with 25 of them previously open just ten weeks out of the year under the standard pool season which ran from June 15 to August 21st.

After speaking to constituents who were disappointed pools closed so early, Hahn pushed to extend the ten-week pool season to a six-month pool season. This year, County pools will be open from May through the end of October and the Department of Parks and Recreation has hired and trained additional lifeguards to keep the pools staffed.

Photo Credit: Bryan Chan

This week, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn attended the meeting of the Artesia City Council and formally announced that her office would provide $1.2 million to the city for needed upgrades to AJ Padelford Park.

“This $1.2 million will fund upgrades to AJ Padelford Park’s main building, replace the old computers for the youth program, refurbish the roof of the teen center, fund the construction of new outdoor restrooms, and pay for the installation of more lighting in the park to improve safety for residents walking through the park in the evening,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Our parks, no matter how small, are some of the most important assets in our neighborhoods. I know that this project was a priority for the City of Artesia, and I am so grateful that we can help make it happen.”

The upgrades are vitally needed at the park. The main building roof has multiple leaks which have caused damage to the building, the park currently has no public restrooms, and the computers in the teen center are over 15 years old.

“I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Supervisor Hahn and her dedicated staff for their unwavering advocacy on behalf of the City Council, City Staff, and the residents of the City of Artesia,” said Councilmember Monica Monalo. “Their successful efforts in securing these funds will greatly improve our City parks and enhance the quality of life for our residents and those visiting our wonderful parks.”

AJ Padelford Park is a 1.9-acre park located at 11870 169th St. in Artesia. The $1.2 million in funding from Supervisor Hahn’s office comes from discretionary Community Program funds.

Full size photo