Monday marked the final wave of promised Cincinnati city pools to open.On June 6, Dempsey, Hirsch, Evanston, Lincoln and Pleasant Ridge joined Oakley, McKie and Dunham pools to open to visitors.Only eight out of the city’s 23 pools can open currently due to ongoing staff shortages. After the city announced a staggered $2,000 bonus, on top of the $11.60 starting hourly salary raise to attract applicants, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission told WLWT it had nearly 100 people sign up to work as a lifeguard, but after more than half didn’t show up to interview and even more didn’t pass the screenings to be a lifeguard, CRC says only 12 people are qualified to be hired as trained lifeguards. CRC says the goal of the bonus is to have its employees be able to earn $15 an hour.The Cincinnati Recreation Commission says it needs to have 250 lifeguards to fully open all 23 pools but currently it doesn’t even have 100 trained lifeguards. WLWT asked how this affects families and neighborhoods who can’t count on a summer staple to provide a safe option for swim lessons and recreation time.”Our public pools,” Cincinnati Recreation Commission Aquatic Director April Chappell began, “They offer a better quality of life in that particular community. It is a safe place. A lot of our lifeguards grew up at the pools where they work. So there’s value in that and not just with those individuals but with their families and their neighbors. So they value the service that we provide.”Darrin Alexander is in his fourth year of being a Cincinnati Recreation Commission lifeguard. The 18-year-old and recent high school graduate is working this summer as a head guard. He hoped to help manage the Hartwell pool because that’s where he started as a new guard but that pool isn’t opened and isn’t in the CRC pipeline to open soon. CRC says it’ll most likely open Mount Washington and Sayler Park pools next in the lineup but again can’t provide a timeline due to staffing shortages.For now, Darrin Alexander is focused on supporting his team and Lincoln pool guests to the best of his abilities, though he admits it’s not getting any easier.”So we’re working probably twice as much as we normally would and especially in previous years,” Alexander said. “As a head guard, my typical job duty is help the manager make sure that pool runs properly. Recently, both myself and other head guards and our physical manager have been up in the chair for majority of the day. So it’s not allowing us to do our job to the 100% best of our ability. We’re trying as hard as we can. We’re getting as much as we can done, or we’re succeeding for now. But we don’t know how long Burnout is a very real thing.”Cincinnati Recreation Commission told WLWT it will make a decision by mid-June on whether it will impose a brownout on its currently open pools, meaning it will only operate on limited hours based on staffing availability.In total, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission said it takes about two weeks for a person to go from the application process to finishing lifeguard training before they would be able to be added to the roster of eligible staff. CRC says it takes about 10-12 staff members to open a pool depending on its size.To apply to become a lifeguard with the city of Cincinnati, click here.
CINCINNATI —
Monday marked the final wave of promised Cincinnati city pools to open.
On June 6, Dempsey, Hirsch, Evanston, Lincoln and Pleasant Ridge joined Oakley, McKie and Dunham pools to open to visitors.
Only eight out of the city’s 23 pools can open currently due to ongoing staff shortages.
After the city announced a staggered $2,000 bonus, on top of the $11.60 starting hourly salary raise to attract applicants, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission told WLWT it had nearly 100 people sign up to work as a lifeguard, but after more than half didn’t show up to interview and even more didn’t pass the screenings to be a lifeguard, CRC says only 12 people are qualified to be hired as trained lifeguards. CRC says the goal of the bonus is to have its employees be able to earn $15 an hour.
The Cincinnati Recreation Commission says it needs to have 250 lifeguards to fully open all 23 pools but currently it doesn’t even have 100 trained lifeguards. WLWT asked how this affects families and neighborhoods who can’t count on a summer staple to provide a safe option for swim lessons and recreation time.
“Our public pools,” Cincinnati Recreation Commission Aquatic Director April Chappell began, “They offer a better quality of life in that particular community. It is a safe place. A lot of our lifeguards grew up at the pools where they work. So there’s value in that and not just with those individuals but with their families and their neighbors. So they value the service that we provide.”
Darrin Alexander is lifeguard in his fourth year of being a Cincinnati Recreation Commission. The 18-year-old and recent high school graduate is working this summer as a head guard. He hoped to help manage the Hartwell pool because that’s where he started as a new guard but that pool isn’t opened and isn’t in the CRC pipeline to open soon. CRC says it’ll most likely open Mount Washington and Sayler Park pools next in the lineup but again can’t provide a timeline due to staffing shortages.
For now, Darrin Alexander is focused on supporting his team and Lincoln pool guests to the best of his abilities, though he admits it’s not getting any easier.
“So we’re working probably twice as much as we normally would and especially in previous years,” Alexander said. “As a head guard, my typical job duty is help the manager make sure that pool runs properly. Recently, both myself and other head guards and our physical manager have been up in the chair for majority of the day. So it’s not allowing us to do our job to the 100% best of our ability. We’re trying as hard as we can. We’re getting as much as we can done, or we’re succeeding for now. But we don’t know how long it’s really going to last. Burnout is a very real thing.”
Cincinnati Recreation Commission told WLWT it will make a decision by mid-June on whether it will impose a brownout on its currently open pools, meaning it will only operate on limited hours based on staffing availability.
In total, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission said it takes about two weeks for a person to go from the application process to finishing lifeguard training before they would be able to be added to the roster of eligible staff. CRC says it takes about 10-12 staff members to open a pool depending on its size.
To apply to become a lifeguard with the city of Cincinnati, click here.
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