by Steve Wiandt
Reporter
Cuyahoga Falls -- Beginning Oct. 24, children 15 and under who go into the Natatorium after 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays will have to have a parent or legal guardian with them.
"We don't want the Natatorium to be a place where kids come to hang out," said Natatorium Director Bill Lohan. He said staff members are going to stand outside the Natatorium on Friday nights, and when a parent pulls up to drop off their kids, they will be handed a flier informing them of the new youth policy.
Lohan, also superintendent of the city's Parks and Recreation Department, informed the Parks Board about the policy last month.
Lohan said over the past three years, he has heard "hundreds of comments" from members who have threatened to quit and join another facility because the youths get in the way of their workout. The youths tend to "mill around," Lohan said. There have never been any serious incidents involving youths, he said, but there were two or three incidents of doors being broken by juveniles.
"It's not like we're experiencing bad behavior problems," said Lohan. "They're just not using this health and wellness facility in the way it was intended." Lohan said this problem is not unique to Cuyahoga Falls. He said he's heard of at least one other health center that started closing early on Fridays because of large crowds of young people.
"We still welcome everybody, but if you're going to come [and you're under 16], don't come without a guardian," said Lohan. "This not a hang-out spot." Lohan noted the policy is not calling for one adult for every child. Families accompanied by one parent are welcome, as well as young guests of the family.
Lohan said the new policy is not a "snap decision." Efforts for the last three years to occupy unsupervised youngsters with events such as basketball, volleyball, movie nights and cornhole tournaments have failed, he said. Special activities did not seem to interest the youths. "The reality is they just want to hang out," he said.
Lohan said the only youth-oriented event that drew a crowd has been the monthly Friday night dance that started two years ago. He said attendance at the dances has been upwards of 250 to 275. Lohan said the dances will continue, the next one scheduled for Nov. 7.
Park Board member Steve Kariotis asked at the September park board meeting why the youth policy would only be in effect two days a week, rather than every day. Lohan said there are more "issues" involving young people on Friday night than any other night of the week. Lohan said on any given Friday evening, 200 to 300 youngsters age 11 to 15 converge on the Natatorium.
"We do expect criticism," said Lohan. "We'll handle the fallout, the calls, the e-mails," he told the board members. "You'll get calls, too, I just wanted to warn you."
Safety a concern, fairness questioned
Natatorium member Kelly Gallagher said she thinks the new policy is "a good idea."
"There are so many kids at the Nat and the staff cannot always be there to make sure they are abiding by the rules," said Gallagher. "It is a safety concern and we all want our kids to be safe."
"I don't think it's fair because our grade would just go there and have fun," Elaina Rehs, a freshman at Falls High. "It's when the kids in the lower grades started to come and use the basketball courts that people started to complain."
Ashley Doshak, a freshman at Falls High, said, "That was my Friday night thing to do. They [Nat officials] definitely made it sound worse than it was. They exaggerated the situation. But, like Elaina said, the younger kids came in and ruined it for us. Now what am I going to do on Friday nights, with Rockin' being over?"
"You should be able to be with your friends, without your parents there baby-sitting you," said Falls High junior Ashley Rehs.
Editor's Note: Reporter Ellin Walsh contributed to this story.
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