Wickepin Swimming Pool forced to close a month early due to altercation between staff and member of public

Shire of Wickepin residents sweated through the final weeks of heat after their public pool was closed a month earlier than scheduled due to an incident in late February. The swimming pool normally stays open until March 31 but has been closed since February 20 after a verbal altercation between the pool manager and a resident. Acting Wickepin chief executive Peter Clarke said the long-time manager had not left the shire’s employ but did not feel comfortable returning to the post so soon after the incident. “The pool manager was quite distressed over what took place and wasn’t prepared to come back to man the pool, which was understandable given what occurred,” he said. “The shire tried to source another swimming pool manager through a variety of means but the cost to get a manager for all of March was going to cost a considerable amount — the per-hourly rate, plus meals, plus accommodation and mileage. “They are also very hard to source, swimming pool managers, as there is shortage of them as there are a whole lot of things they have to be trained in. “A special council meeting was held ... where the information was presented to council and they made the decision to close the pool early, as the budget didn’t allow for the costs. “Normally March is a slow month as it starts to cool down but unfortunately it stayed hot for a bit and the community felt the lack of the pool.” The next closest public pool is in Narrogin, 30km away. The incident follows the temporary closure of the Wagin swimming pool in January due to the alleged harassment of staff and anti-social behaviour. Mr Clarke said the shire had offered adequate support to the pool manager after the incident and hoped the situation could be resolved to enable them to return for the opening of the next season in November. He said the Wickepin council had indicated they would consider a form of discount or fee reduction for people who had bought season tickets when deliberating the 2025-26 budget. The facility is in the town’s main street and has a 25-metre lap pool, a kids’ pool, a trampoline, BBQ facilities and a basketball court.