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<br />~ ~ <br />FROM THE DESK OF TOM MCCARTHY, <br />ASSISTANT RECREATION SUPERINTENDENT <br />T0: NANCY MACCARTNEY, DIRECTOR <br />CC: LYNDA EUELL-TAYLOR, RECREATION SUPERINTENDENT <br />DATE: OCTOBER 8, 2009 <br />SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION FOR 200 HEMAN POOL SWIMMING SEASON <br />with the 2010 school district calendar indicating the first day of school as Monday, August 1 G, <br />staff recommends the discontinuation of weekday public swim "back to school "operating hours. <br />we would retain weekday/weekend/holiday lap swim schedule and our normal weekend/holiday <br />public swim hours of operation Noon-8 pm} until the end of our 2010 swim season Labor Day}. <br />There will be no effect to the beginning of the pool season because the school district calendar has <br />the last day of school as Tuesday May 25~. Even if there are a few snow makeup days it should have <br />no impact on pool operations. <br />we found again this summer ~as in past summers}, our morning lap swim program was very <br />well attended; though the same could not be said about the weekday public swim session. Due to the <br />cooler temperatures and beginning of the new school year both factors again contributed to a drastic <br />decline in weekday public swim attendance. <br />with staffing being extremely low, those patron who did visit the during "back to school" <br />weekday schedule of 3:30-8 pm were many times frustrated and/or disappointed due to various areas <br />~i.e. slide, diving board, baby pool} not being available. Opening the entire pool requires nine guards <br />and once more, the availability of pool staff was almost nonexistent. On most days, there were only two guards and myself providing coverage and even though we only had the lap lanes <br />and the <br />shallow end accessible; with the size of our pool I would definitely consider us operating in an unsafe <br />manner; as well as this being an inappropriate use of professional staff time. while opposition to this <br />recommendation may state it is requested to "save money", this would be totally untrue. with only <br />two lifeguards on duty during the week, the cost savings are "minimal" compared to operating the <br />pool as safely as possible. <br />Indicated below is a brief outline of our lifeguard recruitment process for our 2009 season and <br />our lifeguard numbers did significantly increase, but once school started the youth were unavailable <br />or not interested in working due to sports, extracurricular activities or their parents wanting them to focus more on their studies. For the two to three lifeguards we were able to retain, <br />due to their <br />excessive schedule of working seven days a week; by the end of the season, staff showed signs of <br />"burn out" and even indicated not returning next season to their lifeguard position. Also included <br />below are the 2010 "back to school" schedules for various pools in the area and as you can see we <br />are one of a few open during the week and the only area pool open all five days weekdays. <br />June 21, 2010 J-2-2 <br />