Pool Problems

Siler City looking for lifeguards to work at Bray Park this summer

Posted

SILER CITY — The town of Siler City is looking to hire lifeguards and pool managers for the Bray Park swimming pool for this summer, but Town Manager Hank Raper said finding people to fill the roles has been difficult. 

“This is a learning year for us,” he said. “This is kind of a trial year to figure out the the challenges of running it ourselves, what we need to do to be competitive, what hiring practices and recruitment efforts are most effective.”

Lifeguard shortages have been prevalent across the country, and Siler City is no exception. These shortages have been felt at all kinds of aquatic facilities, but according to a report from Sports Destination Management, municipal pools have struggled the most. Of the 300,000 public pools in the U.S., nearly 50% were impacted by the shortage and were forced to limit hours of operation or services. 

Prior to this summer, the Siler City Board of Commissioners approved a request to terminate a contract with Carolina Pool Management, a company that handled the hiring of lifeguards, pool management and other pool operations. 

Raper said the decision was made because the contract price increased dramatically, and it would cost the town less to hire their own staff.

“I think that was a good decision — we’ve hired a recreation coordinator who’s helping out with the pool and also going to lead us on special events going forward,” Raper said. “The challenge has been being able to hire the part-time, seasonal staff that we need to get to get this process off the ground.”

While the town has managed to hire several seasonal staff for the pool, Raper said to provide the best quality service, more lifeguards are needed. 

Incentives have been established to recruit more lifeguards, including a $15 to $16 hourly wage. 

“We’ll pay 100% of all training and certification costs,” Raper said. “We also provide the uniforms so it’s no out of pocket expense.”

The requirements to become a lifeguard include a certification, and being able to pass a swim test. The certification classes for lifeguarding include 25 hours of trainings, which includes learning about CPR and First Aid skills, along with other important topics. The applicants must be at least 15 years old and must be able to work in the U.S.

Despite the incentives in place, there is one major caveat the town has faced when trying to find people to work over the summer. 

“One of our arrangements with getting out of our prior contract was we have a one year non compete from people who previously worked with Carolina Pool Management, so we can’t hire the people who worked with us last year,” Raper said. “We’ve got to find our own team of people for this season, but we’re struggling to get people interested and involved.”

With the clause from the Carolina Pool Management contract, Raper is unable to hire anyone who worked for the pool last summer. There is, however, a different kind of incentive for those who may look for fulltime employment after a summer at the pool. 

Raper said if lifeguards, pool managers or other seasonal staff perform well and were interested in a fulltime career with the town, there are vacancies they could fulfill. The departments with the most vacancies are with the water and wastewater treatment plants, both of which don’t require a college degree to work there. 

“Not every job in the town requires someone with a college degree,” Raper said. “If you’re coming out of high school, we’ll give you will get you started with a job, and we’ll pay for the trainings and certifications you need for that, too … These vacancies could be filled by someone we hire for the summer.”

If residents are interested in applying to be a lifeguard, they can go to www.silercity.org to apply. 

Reporter Taylor Heeden can be reached at theeden@chathamnr.com.