It’s a known fact that businesses everywhere are struggling for help, and the Highlands Recreation Department is in the same boat.
During last Thursday’s regularly scheduled Highlands Town Board of Commissioners meeting, the board unanimously approved to hire a full-time lifeguard starting at $15 an hour with benefits and raise part time lifeguards and ice rink staff to $15 an hour in an effort to attract and retain adequate staff to operate these facilities.
“Highlands Recreation Pool has been struggling like most others in the industry to get and retain lifeguards,” Recreation director Lester Norris said. “The last two years we have had to go out and recruit part time lifeguards, where in the past, high school students have come to us looking for part time work as students have come to us looking for part time work as lifeguards. Again, over the last couple of years, we have struggled to get and keep guards to maintain our pool schedule.”
Since the first of August, Norris said the pool lost four lifeguards to other jobs that were reportedly paying $15 an hour.
“Just this week, we had two more guards leave,” Norris said. “This leaves us with Tyler the pool manager, who works Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m., to 1:30 p.m., and three part time lifeguards, one of which can only work on Saturday, one who can only work on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and Sundays, and one who usually can only work one day a weekend. As of today, we no longer have adequate staff to open for Public Swim, which requires lifeguards.”
The Recreation Committee met on Monday, Sept. 27, and discussed hiring a full-time lifeguard, giving the pool a staff person with a year around set schedule, providing more adult supervision, and raising part time lifeguards pay to $15, along with raising Ice Rink staff to $15.
Commissioner Amy Patterson questioned if it was worth the board paying someone $15 to sit there and do nothing during the winter months.
“I don’t know the true answer to that,” Norris said. “It’s a public pool, and we want to use it as much as we can. It’s heated, it’s chemically controlled. This will have to be a decision that the board makes.”
Since Aug. 1, the pool has had to close the Public Swim times because of lack of staff, which Norris said has caused a decrease in patronage.
“We have had to make announcements in the news to make sure people call here to make sure the pool is open,” Norris said. “The last five weeks, we have only been open for public swim two days a week because those are the only days we have staff to work it. From 3:30 – 7 p.m., we do have adults that come and take advantage of the pool, because you don’t have to have a lifeguard present, but if we open the pool to kids 18 and younger, you have to have a lifeguard present.”
Adding a full time and part time lifeguards would add an extra $47,895.75 to the recreation budget. Bumping up the ice rink staff to pay $15 an hour, would add an extra $6,649.10.
Commissioner Brian Steihler made the motion to approve the addition, stating it is a need.
“I would hate to have this beautiful facility and not have it available,” Steihler said. “These are just the times we are living in, I’m afraid. This is the cost of doing business nowadays.”
- By Christopher Smith