Binienda Memorial Beach in Worcester to reopen Tuesday after 3-day closure due to lifeguard staffing issues

Toni Caushi, Telegram & Gazette
·2 min read
The swimming area at John J. Binienda Beach at Coes Pond in Worcester was closed Monday due to a lack of lifeguards, the city said.
The swimming area at John J. Binienda Beach at Coes Pond in Worcester was closed Monday due to a lack of lifeguards, the city said.

WORCESTER — The “Beach Closed – Swimming Prohibited” sign at Binienda Memorial Beach will be removed Tuesday after being posted for three days.

The beach, at Coes Pond, was closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday because of what officials said were staffing limitations.

Two lifeguards showed COVID-19 symptoms, according to Jay Fink, commissioner of the city Department of Public Works and Parks. He said lifeguards did not test positive for the virus; the beach was closed for precautionary reasons, he said.

Binienda Memorial Beach is expected to remain open until Aug. 21, the last day of the city’s beach season.

“We have had our challenges with lifeguards from get-go, as has everybody else,” said Fink.

The lifeguard shortage has been an ongoing issue for the city, forcing the DPW&P to skip the anticipated July 1 opening of Indian Lake Beach, one of the city’s other four swim locations.

The city was able to hire only 17 lifeguards, falling short of its yearly goal of 40 that is needed to appropriately staff locations at Bell Pond, Indian Lake Beach, John J. Binienda Memorial Beach, Shore Park Beach and Crompton Park Pool.

As of Monday, the city was down to 13, according to Fink, who added that four lifeguards had returned to college.

He  said the regular swim hours, from noon to 7 p.m., will not be affected for the remainder of the season.

The city’s two spray parks — Cristoforo Colombo/East Spray Park, 180 Shrewsbury St., and Greenwood Spray Park, 14 Forsberg St. — will be open until 7 p.m., seven days a week until Labor Day.

Earlier this year, the DPW&P launched “Swim the Woo” with free classes at pools of the YWCA, the Boys and Girls Club, Girls Inc. and the YMCA of Central Massachusetts.

The initiative looked to train lifeguards, of high school and college age, and to teach swimming to younger children — viewed by organizers as future lifeguards.

The classes ended in late June and streamlined recruits into lifeguarding positions that paid increased wages of $18 per hour.

Robert C. Antonelli Jr., assistant commissioner of the DPW&P, said at the time that 70% of the hires were new hires.

“People are shifting where they want to work and what they want to do,” Antonelli said at the time. “Lifeguarding is not the only summer job and training is not an easy class — not everybody passes that class, either."

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Coes Pond Binienda Memorial Beach in Worcester to reopen Tuesday after three-day closure