Kinston Community Center to open at 15% capacity, other Parks and Rec facilities at 25% capacity

Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Director Corey Povar spoke at Tuesday’s City Council meeting to discuss the plans for reopening the Kinston Community Center and other recreational facilities. Governor Cooper announced North Carolina moved into phases 2.5 on Friday, September 4.

“We are really excited about the opportunity to open our facilities to open back up to the public. Obviously, our major concern in opening our facilities is the safety of our patrons and the safety of our community,” said Povar.

The expectation is for Kinston Community Center, and other Parks and Recreation facilities to be open to the public within a week with certain restrictions. While the governor’s executive order mandated gyms open at 30% capacity, the Parks and Recreation Commission met and voted to open the gym at 15% capacity and the other facilities including Neuse Nature Park at 25% capacity.

“The Parks and Recreations commission thought that 15% capacity was a more reasonable number that everyone felt comfortable with,” said Povar.

In addition to the reduced capacity, the facilities will be closed for blocks of time throughout the day to allow staff to clean high touch and traffic areas. The basketball court at the Community Center will be used for aerobic classes and the space will also be used by kids doing their schoolwork.

“Basketball play was another major concern. The commission did not want folks to be able to run full court games so that it creates an unsafe environment. We're happy to basically put in rules and regulations that don't allow basketball game play,” said Povar.

For facilities that require a membership, like the Kinston Community Center, only members will be permitted. They will be required to sign a waiver for consent to enter the public facility and sign a daily log. Members are asked to be compliant with face covering when in common areas.

All the staff will be required to wear face coverings as well. Masks will be available for purchase at the facilities. Facilities that do not require membership will require filling out registration type information on their initial visit, sign a waiver, and wear a face covering.