City of Columbia hires 85 lifeguards
As of Thursday, the city of Columbia has around 85 lifeguards, which is fewer than city officials had hoped.
ABC 17 News reported last month that the city was experiencing a shortage of lifeguards.
Mike Griggs, director of Parks and Recreation, said he would like to have about 25 more lifeguards, but that the city is currently making do.
City officials moved the aquatic supervisor and recreation specialists’ offices from the Activity and Recreation Center to a pool facility so that they could serve as pool managers this summer, in addition to their other duties.
“The end of July and the first of August is when we really see guards taking vacations with their families, and so that’s really when the crunch will hit us, and we will have to start looking at other adjustments at that time,” Griggs said.
So far this summer, the city has not had to change any of the pool facilities hours due to staffing shortages.
Information about certification and the application process for lifeguards can be found here.
