(FAYETTEVILLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – In a Fayette County Commission meeting held Wednesday morning, it was resolved that lifeguard trainees would not be required to bear the responsibility of covering the costs for certification training.
The decision comes as a result of an ongoing lifeguard shortage which has been a state-wide issue for a number of years now. Several pools throughout the state have experienced summer-long closings due to sufficient lack of interest in lifeguard positions.
Beckley’s New River Park Pool is one example of an area pool that remained closed throughout the season in 2021 due to lack of lifeguards. This unfortunate development came after the pool had also spent the entirety of the 2020 season closed due to Covid-19 protocols, forcing the establishment into inactivity for a second straight year.
The number of lifeguards required to legally maintain operation of a public pool is contingent upon the size of the pool itself, as this correlates directly with how many swimmers can occupy the pool at a given time, and consequently has a tangible impact on how much supervision is needed to ensure the safety of those using the pool.
The sustained inoperation of Beckley’s New River Park Pool last year is a prime example of these regulations in practice, as though it remained closed throughout the season, the nearby Black Knight Pool was given the greenlight to open for the summer. This is due to the marked size difference of the two pools.
With a capacity of just over 100 swimmers, the Black Knight Pool requires substantially less manpower to remain operational, while the New River Park Pool – which can accommodate hundreds of swimmers – needs at least 10 qualified lifeguards onboard for the location to function. Beckley Director of Parks and Recreation, Leslie Baker, made note of the importance of sufficient lifeguard recruitment in order to more adequately serve the citizens in the area.
While the Fayette County Park ultimately did accrue enough lifeguards in 2021 to make its pool functional, initial lack of interest led to a delayed opening. According to park director Wayne Workman, this was due the park’s inability at the time to fill the five positions required to make a pool of this size functional, with only one of the positions having been filled at the time of opening.
The Fayette County Commission’s Wednesday morning meeting addressed issues concerning lifeguard recruitment which have been broached by Raleigh County in the past, those being the coverage of the cost of lifeguard certification and the increase of hourly pay to $12 per hour for lifeguards.
Though the coverage of certification and hourly rate increase were not enough to open the doors to the New River Park Pool, the Fayette County Commission moved to approve the county’s assumption of cost for certification.
It remains to be seen what will come of the lifeguard wage issue in Fayette County, however, as the commission has opted to put a hold on deliberation and revisit the topic during the next meeting, which is scheduled to take place on April 19, 2022.
For more information on Fayette County developments, visit the county website here.
Fayette County Commission approves coverage of certification costs amid lifeguard shortage
