Anderson Building & Pool — Local services in Wheat Ridge

I have been coming to Anderson pool for over 20 years, ever since I was a kid myself. The overall facility is great and the lifeguards are very safety conscious. However, today I experienced the most condescending and rude interaction with a staff member while trying to enter the pool. My husband and I arrived around 12:30, and as we entered the front doors, there was staff member holding a clip board (female, mid 50's, short dark hair, lipstick) hostilely addressing another patron and her two kids, saying they we're at capacity and she can not drop off her kids. We then left, and while were still standing outside of the building, about 15-20 people walked out. I walked back in, and without saying anything, this staff member raised her voice at me saying "Ma'am, I said we are at capacity!" Taken aback, I asked if they will be letting anyone in since a large group of people just left. She responded by condescendingly asking if I knew what "at capacity" means.... I said yes, but I'm trying to understand if I should wait outside for more people to leave, or if they will not be letting anyone else in for the rest of the day. She then raised her voice again and said "Ma'am, I said we are AT CAPACITY!" At this point I was not going to engage with this woman any further, so I turned around and left the building. I understand there is a shortage of lifeguards and the capacity is set to ensure everyone's safety. However, the way this staff member was communicating this to guests was unclear, unhelpful and frankly inappropriate. As I mentioned, I have plenty of fond memories of growing up at this pool, and this one negative interaction won't sour years of positive experiences, but I do feel the need to share this publicly in the hopes this staff member might consider approaching patrons differently...

Why is there only one outdoor pool for the entire city of Wheat Ridge. The slide was closed all year because "we need a new mat". No one could order a mat for the slide this summer? Pool constantly closes for a variety of reasons. Sometimes sewage backs up in women's locker room. This was a constant. We would wait for 2 hous just to get into the pool (because Wheat Ridge can't staff enough lifeguards to accommodate all the people who want to go to the 1 outdoor pool), only to be kicked out an hour later for one reason or another. Lifeguards are aggressive and disgruntled. Place is falling apart. No investments are being made to the only pool in the area. This is true of the Wheat Ridge Rec center too. The staff literally tells us to try Apex or Golden when we ask why things are not being fixed. Why. Wheat Ridge has 2mil dollar home now with sky rocketing property taxes. Surely we can have some better parks...

I love hanging here during my 1st preganacy! The place is small yet has 1, 2, 3, and 4 different "areas" seperated by floating ropes to make it feel like a bang for your buck. And an adult slide. Then of course there is the kiddie pool side which holds its own! The kiddie pool has a slide and a few fountian attractions that are cool! I love to just hang here with a good book, if u have a jeffco county id it is 5.50 for adults and under 2 uears id free! The consession stand food prices cant be beat, love this place. Its isnt a full 5 stars because of the occassional and I mean ONCE, a big ol male lifeguard seemed like he was having a bit to much fun bullying a few kids, its like he couldnt get on the police force or something and had to exert his authority somehow that summer. Lol. And the kids pool can sometimes be crowded, but its still great. They got three lap lanes, usually open....