Mayor Howard Johnson wanted fanfare made to advertise the reopening of the Outdoor Pool for the summer season. He got it.

What he can't seem to manage and has no control over, is opening the pool's Kamikaze slide.

Unused and unfinished, the Kamikaze slide, like a pale heron's neck, curves up into the sky against the backdrop of the glistening pool. The slide has been closed for four years and its grand reopening was scheduled for Memorial Day weekend in May.

First the weather didn't cooperate with workers on the project and cold temperatures delayed the slide's resurfacing preparations.

"Then the (Utah County) Health Department came in and raised a stink," Johnson said. "In retrospect we should have talked with the Health Department first, but there had been no complaints of our pool in the past so we weren't concerned."

He said he thinks at the most it will be two weeks before the slide is ready for use, but hopes it is before July 11.

UCHD pool program manager Jason Garrett said the enactment of the Virginia Graham Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act and an old pool are the cause of the delay.

"Currently at Utah County, all pools that are out of compliance due to this rule," Garrett said. "We've given them a year to come into compliance."

The Baker law was passed nationally in 2007 and is named after a 7-year-old girl who drowned when a pool drain suction held her under the water at a pool bottom in 2004.

When the Outdoor Pool opened in 2007 for the first time in three years, Lehi City fell under the county's one-year grace period to meet the new standards but remained in compliance because the Kamikaze slide was not opened.

Last week, workers installed a separate flow meter for the splash pool at the bottom of the Kamikaze slide to determine the water intake suction so UCHD staff and the city could determine the type of drain system needed.

Water facility superintendent Kim Cooper remains positive about the opening of the slide. He said he'd rather bring the pool up to code before the improvements to the slide are completed rather than have to do the work all over again.

"The weather is good now," Cooper said. "They need to put two more finish coats on the slide, but with the splash pool we can't do anything with it until we know we're up to code .... We are just trying to get it up to code."

UCHD spokesperson Lance Madigan said there are three ways people can get in trouble with a pool drain -- they can get physically stuck to the drain, hair can become entangled in the drain holding the person under the water, and disembowelment.

"We knew it was an issue, we just never forced old pools into compliance before," said Ron Tobler, former UCHD pool program manager. "From time to time there have been differing issues ... we've gone through these changes to make pools safer."

NEWS BRIEFS

Matheson staff visits Lehi -- Congressman Jim Matheson is sending Congressional staff to Lehi to discuss issues with the public on July 10 from noon to 1 p.m. at the Lehi Seniors Center, 123 N. Center St.

Topics include Veterans Affairs, Medicare Social Security, travel visas, RECA claims, immigration. The public is invited to attend. Questions please call 1-877-677-9743 or visit www.house.gov/matheson.

LCC asset -- The Lehi Community Council, a nonprofit organization made up of city leaders, has chosen asset 35 from "What Your Kids Need to Succeed" for July. Asset 35 targets resistance skills and giving youth the power to resist negative peer pressure and the ability to avoid dangerous situations.

Resisting negative and dangerous situations takes self-confidence and assertiveness skills. Parents can talk with their parents or other adults they trust about values and beliefs. Children can make a list of what they believe and are comfortable defending.

Scout patch available -- Boy Scouts can earn their Hutchings Museum Scout patch through a self-guided tour called "The Treasure Hunt for Scouts." Tours are available Tuesday through Friday and the latest tour begins at 4 p.m. each day. More information on the patch and tour is available at 768-7180 or www.hutchingsmuseum.org.

Correction -- An article in the Lehi Free Press June 26 edition headlines "A history of being in the line of fire," contained incorrect information. Officer Joseph D. Adams' younger brother, Zac Adams, was a Lehi police officer for about a year and no longer works for the city.