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VALLEY — Valley Parks and Recreation Director Laurie Blount told the Valley City Council on Monday that Valley Community Center has been open for several weeks now but that participation is well below pre-COVID-19 levels.

“We are averaging between 150 and 200 people per day,” she said. “That’s well below normal. Attendance is way down among seniors. It’s slowly getting better. We just need to get people confident about coming back. If you want to wear a mask, wear one. We are constantly learning every day. We are doing everything we can for it to be as safe as it can be.”

There will be some new hours at the Community Center starting Monday, June 15. The Community Center will be open Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. EDT and from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The basketball courts will be open with a limit of 20 people per court. The hours are noon until 3 p.m. and from 4 p.m. -7 p.m. on Monday through Friday and from noon until 3 p.m. on Saturday. There’s a non-member rate of $5 per session for adults and $3 per session of youth.

The non-member rates for the pool are $5 for adults, $3 for youth and $2 for seniors. The pool is open from noon until 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday. All non-members have to sign a waiver. Youth must have the waiver signed by a parent or guardian.

Swimming lessons will be offered June 15-26, July 6-17 and July 20-21. The classes include school-age beginners (ages 5-12), levels 1 and 2; toddlers (3-5); school-age intermediate and advanced Levels 3 and 4; parent and child aquatics, adult swim. All classes are Monday through Thursday with Friday reserved for make-up days. Participants should be at the pool no more than five minutes prior to the class and should be prepared to leave following the class.

For further information, call (334) 756-5290.

In other action Monday, the council declared a public nuisance and authorized action to clean up a lot located at 201 Hodges Street. The property is in two parcels and owned by Johnny Bailey and Lisa Bailey. They were notified on Dec. 16 that the property needed to be cleaned up but that the owners had failed to do so. Building Inspector Reid Riley said that he had been contacted by Mr. Bailey in January and had been presented with a plan of action to clean it up.

“He told me he would get a building permit in March and would get a permit to rehab the building,” Riley said. “He should be finished with it by now but has failed to follow up.”

The council unanimously approved a three-item consent agenda. Approved were a budget amendment in the amount of $4,158.44 in an insurance recovery to pay for a damaged police vehicle, a budget amendment in the amount of $10,700 for vehicles damaged in accidents and an expenditure of $9,618.61 in insurance recoveries for a damaged tennis court fence off Sportsplex Drive.

Mayor Leonard Riley told the council that he’s looking at refinancing a bond issue that was enacted by the council in 2014.

“We could save over $1 million over the life of the bond,” he said. “This would make all of our bonds under 15 years with an interest rate of under 2.5 percent. The bond rates are low right now but won’t remain that way for a long time.”

Council Member Jim Clark said that he had been uplifted in recent prayer meetings he’d attended that had taken place in the wake of the national protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. Chief Tommy Weldon followed that up by saying he was grateful on having received expressions of support from the community for Valley Police Department and the way officers deal with the public.

Council Member Cassie Carlisle said that she was feeling much better following a recent illness and wanted to thank everyone for their calls and expressions of support.