Pools closing due to lack of lifeguards
Another swimming pool casualty was reported this week due to lack of lifeguards. It was the second closing in the region, and chances are, it may not be the last.
In April, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced that the swimming pool at French Creek State Park will be closed for the summer season. “Unfortunately, we will not have the necessary amount of lifeguards and support staff to open the pool at the park in 2022,” park Manager James Wassell said in a release.
Officials said the vendor operating the pool experienced a shortage of lifeguards and other support staff. They noted other similar facilities across the state are facing staffing issues.
The French Creek pool as part of a state park was the only swimming spot in the region where families could pay by the day. The Berks County facility was a welcome alternative to a costly pool membership for many families.
In Bucks County, the West Rockhill-Sellersville Recreation Authority said this week a “severe staffing shortage” is forcing a closure of the Holiday House pool this summer.
The pool in West Rockhill, which is jointly owned by the two municipalities, had just announced they were developing a plan for future sustainability after having been closed in 2020 because of Covid, and losing money in 2021. Fundraising efforts had been started as part of a strategy to get back on track.
But only six people applied to be lifeguards, abruptly ending plans to open this year. Twenty guards are needed to safely operate, pool officials said.
The pool started advertising in January to fill those spots, including by contacting 42 people who had been Holiday House lifeguards in previous years, posting the openings on social media, and notifying the YMCA and school district about the openings. Pay rates were $12 per hour for a first year lifeguard, with an additional 50 cents per hour for each year of lifeguarding experience, “which is a significant increase over last year to try and be competitive,” pool officials said, “but that did not help us.”
Nearby, in Lansdale, the recreation department reported that pools would open with “a full complement of managers, lifeguards, and desk help.” Lansdale has two public pools that operate with income from memberships and rentals for private events.
Lansdale Borough Council member Mary Fuller said changes were made in recent years meant to retain pool employees. “One was increasing the wage range, and the other was agreeing that we could pick up the expense of certifications” for certain lifeguard training, she said. Another boost has been an incentive for pool staff to refer friends for positions.
The difficulty in hiring lifeguards coincides with hourly wage upgrades in retail and restaurant industries, who also hire for summers from the labor pool of high school and college students. While $12 an hour may strain the expense side of pool management, applicants can get $14 to $15 an hour in other jobs that require no experience.
Without public pools, many families are left without a swimming option for the summer, a hardship for those with children who can’t afford costly camps and don’t live in neighborhoods with a pool for every house.
Pools are for many people more than just a wet respite from the heat. News that the site of the East Reading Pool in the city of Reading is going to be filled in to become a parking lot brought out memories from older generations who credited the camaraderie at the pool with providing life lessons and hours of healthy activity.
The loss of public pools that are affordable to all affects the physical and mental health of families, and thus, of entire communities. We don’t have a good solution beyond spending more money on lifeguards from state coffers for a place like French Creek and working with incentives and creative ideas for other municipal-supported sites.
In a world where it seems things are constantly heating up, we all need places to cool off. We’re sorry to see some pools go by the wayside.