Open swimming hours at the city’s community center’s indoor pool were slashed on September 9 due to a lack of lifeguards.
The city points to a national shortage of swimming pool lifeguards [as reported by our indie cousin Shawnee Mission Post] as the reason the hours modifying, cutting out midway swims from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The city now wants to increase the wages of its lifeguards to be more competitive with its neighbor Prince William County and needs to hike the city’s budget by $35,652 to cover the higher wages.
It also wants to hire a new aquatics specialist that would oversee the management of the indoor pool, for a total budget increase of $67,445 to pay for the specialist and the higher lifeguard pay, starting Oct. 1.
While recruiting new lifeguards will still be a challenge, the city says, at least they would have the aquatics specialist to fill in during times when a regular lifeguard is unavailable.
City Manager Laszlo Palko will present his plan to the Governing Body during Tuesday’s meeting. If no action is taken, the reduced hours could be in place until 2023.
