Getting ‘everyone into the pool’ requires lifeguards around the pool
The calendar just flipped from winter to spring but the search for summertime staff for public pools in Franklin County has been underway for months.
Notable on the list is Caledonia State Park, where swimming has been a hit-or-miss activity for several seasons. The first Facebook post looking for lifeguards went up in early December.
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On the municipal front, securing people to work at Chambersburg Aquatic Center and Waynesboro’s Northside Pool started around the holidays.
Will the pool at Caledonia State Park be open this year?
The pool at Caledonia was closed in 2022 because of both a lack of lifeguards and a painting and rehabilitation project that took longer than expected. There were staffing shortages in previous years, too.
Caledonia is far from the only pool in the state park system where it’s a struggle to find lifeguards, according to Wesley Robinson, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
“Lifeguard shortages have impacted nearly all of them, adjusting hours of operation or open availability in some ways since the pandemic,” Robinson said.
He cited factors including “higher demand for lifeguards, a tighter labor market for lifeguards, rising wages at other jobs, fewer visas and travel issues as a result of the pandemic reducing the number of prospective lifeguards from overseas.”
The problem doesn’t extend to Cowans Gap State Park, just over the line in Fulton County, or many other parks with beaches. The majority are swim-at-your-own risk sites and don’t have lifeguards.
Caledonia got the recruiting started weeks before Christmas on Facebook saying, “The Caledonia Lifeguard positions are currently open for application. This posting will run from now until the end of March.”
The post indicated the pay starts at just over $15 an hour, an increase made in 2021 to make the spots competitive with other jobs. DCNR also pays for training, which helps reduce the cost for prospective lifeguards, Robinson noted.
The early advertising, “a relatively new practice some state parks are employing to help recruit lifeguards for the season,” seems to have paid off.
The pools at most state parks — including Caledonia — are expected to open for the summer Memorial Day weekend and then be open five days a week, including weekends.
“There is optimism for a great season,” Robinson said.
What does it take to staff the Chambersburg Aquatic Center?
Recruiting for the Chambersburg Aquatic Center begins in January and occupies staff time daily through the end of April. Hiring often continues after the facility has opened, according to Julie Redding, recreation director for the Borough of Chambersburg.
Many of the staff are not full-time — they have other jobs or only want to work a few days a week — so the center needs about 100 seasonal employees. Concession employees, cashiers and lifeguards are still being hired. Starting pay is, respectively, $9.50, $10 and $13 an hour.
Features at the water park include the pool, slides, a lazy river and tot area. Meeting or exceeding safety standards requires 12 to 13 lifeguards a day from a group of 40.
But it is about more than just the numbers.
“We recognize the importance of working with and developing young professionals. It's an operation that requires excellent customer service and safety is of the utmost importance, but we also try to incorporate a fun, family and team environment for our staff,” Redding said.
“It is always exciting to see many employees return because it demonstrates that, while they understand they are required to work hard, they enjoy their job well enough to return from season to season,” she said. “Some will stay from the end of their freshman year in high school through their senior year in college.”
Why do people look forward to working at Waynesboro’s Northside Pool?
Camaraderie is one of the perks at Waynesboro’s Northside Pool, where lifeguards start at $9 an hour and get a raise for each year they return.
“Northside is really popular, and a lot of kids look forward to working there,” said Jacob Robinson, pool manager, who speaks from experience.
“I always loved the environment … the staff was friendly, I looked up to them and I knew I wanted to work here,” Robinson said.
He’s worked at Northside for six years, first as a cashier, then as a lifeguard, head lifeguard and lifeguard instructor. The Millersville University sophomore is in his second year as pool manager and spent part of both his Christmas and spring breaks planning for the summer.
Interviews have been conducting, the numbers are looking good and “we’re figuring out who we want where.” He hopes to have lifeguards and cashiers lined up by early May in anticipation of a soft opening from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, May 26.
It’s a fun work environment among friends who get to spend time outside, Robinson said, noting many current and former staffers got together for a photo last year when the pool’s 50th anniversary was celebrated.
Shawn Hardy is a reporter with Gannett's Franklin County newspapers in south-central Pennsylvania — the Echo Pilot in Greencastle, The Record Herald in Waynesboro and the Public Opinion in Chambersburg. She has more than 35 years of journalism experience. Reach her at shardy@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Waynesboro Record Herald: Staff being lined up for Caledonia, Chambersburg, Waynesboro pools
