SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Springfield-Greene County Park Board will maintain regular pool hours Friday even though the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory. 

Silver Springs pool was open until 8 pm on Thursday but it will be the last night for extended hours this week. 

“This is the last night in the next few days that we’re going to be able to have extended hours at a pool,” said Jenny Fillmer Edwards, public information administrator for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board. “All of our lifeguards are part-time employees, and there’s a limit on the number of hours that they can work per week.”

Part-time employees are limited to 28 hours a week. The park board said that heat advisories, national night out, and this weekend’s park day were all a part of why the lifeguards are out of hours.

“Unfortunately, tomorrow, Friday’s heat advisory does not have a pool just because we’re out of lifeguard hours,” Edwards said. “If the heat advisory gets extended into the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, we also aren’t going to be able to extend those days.” 

The pools will be open for their regular hours tomorrow, but parents and kids were excited to take advantage of that extra time tonight.

“There’s not much else you can really do, it’s so hot,” said Carrie Waggoner a local parent. “You know summer’s quickly fading away so we’re just trying to squeeze in every opportunity to go enjoy it as we can.”

Although the pools won’t be open late Friday, there is an extra opportunity to cool off at the pool this weekend.

“it’s been called park day, at least since the 1950s. and this is an annual reunion event that’s here at silver springs park there is a parade, there’s a picnic, there’s all kinds of activities that take place there,” Edwards said. “We are offering discount swimming here at Silver Springs pool both days for just a dollar admission all day long or free with the camp food donation.”

Next week is the last week of regular pool hours, with the last day of the summer pool season on August 13th.