Milwaukee County Parks could open more restrooms this year, lifeguard challenges remain
Milwaukee County parks officials are expecting to open more restrooms this year than since the pandemic forced their closure and are doing better on hiring lifeguards than just a year ago.
Still, they are expecting some of the same issues the department has experienced in past years, including vandalism and hiring challenges that have prevented them from staffing Bradford Beach with lifeguards.
County Supervisor Steven Shea said he got messages last summer from constituents who went to parks only to find the restrooms closed.
"Now, I understand with staffing, funding and of course vandalism, this is a challenge, but if we’re going to have things like beer gardens, we have to have open restrooms," he said during a meeting of the County Board's Committee on Parks and Culture Tuesday. "You can't expect in the third decade of the 21st-century people to go into the woods."
More: Milwaukee County parks face looming 'fiscal cliff.' Other communities may offer a path forward.
Progress has been made in hiring seasonal workers and lifeguards ― but challenges remain
The department is faring better this year when it comes to bringing on workers, though county supervisors on Tuesday raised concerns about the number of people interested in lifeguarding who actually meet the qualifications.
Milwaukee County Parks Executive Director Guy Smith told the Journal Sentinel he hopes the department will be able to reach full staffing of 600 to 900 seasonal workers, though he expects to still struggle to hire enough lifeguards.
He credited the seasonal worker staffing to the use of hiring fairs, where people are given conditional offers on the spot for work as lifeguards, in food and beverage sales, and more. The county has also sought to hire and retain lifeguards in recent years by increasing wages and implementing bonus compensation.
Recruiting for all positions began in January, and hiring is taking place now through early June, he said.
The difficulty hiring lifeguards dates to before the pandemic, but the issue has been exacerbated by nationwide worker shortages and the loss of experienced guards in 2020 when the department could not open its facilities.
If Bradford Beach is not staffed, which Smith said is currently the plan, it would mark the fourth year in a row that the popular spot on Lake Michigan would not have lifeguards. The post on the open water is particularly challenging and unpredictable, requiring more experience than many of the current lifeguards have.
The department will also be partnering again with the Beach Ambassadors, who patrol the shoreline to give beach-goers information to have a safe time on the lakefront.
As of mid-March, the department had commitments from 64 lifeguards compared to the 29 total it had hired in April 2022, according to a report from the Parks Department. However, some of those hired for this year have committed for only 10 to 20 hours per week as opposed to 30 to 40 hours. Others may still change their plans and take internship opportunities elsewhere.
Smith said ideally the department could hire 125 lifeguards this season, though only 80 were hired in each of the past two years.
The department will determine which water facilities to open this year based on the number of lifeguards, the amenities offered and equity in access across the county, according to the report.
Supervisors on Tuesday also raised concerns about the few people the department has been able to hire compared to the number who have signed up for the lifeguarding training sessions.
In one instance this year, six people signed up and none attended. In another, 44 signed up, 22 attended, 11 had some swim ability and seven completed the training, according to the report.
Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman, the committee chair, called the numbers "horrible."
More restrooms expected with additional staff
There was some good news, though.
The number of non-lifeguard staff expected to come on board will give the department more people not just to clean park restrooms but also to lock and unlock them each day, Smith said.
In 2020, restrooms were closed for much of the year and then had limited availability because of occupancy restrictions. In the next two years, challenges hiring seasonal staff in a tight job market meant the department had fewer employees to maintain grounds and facilities, according to a report to the committee.
Last year some restrooms were closed and replaced with portapotties, Smith said.
He also hopes the increased staffing will help guard against another problem: vandalism.
"That’s why we say a safe park is a busy park," he said.
The goal is to provide restrooms to the public but, he added, a couple of people can ruin it for everyone when their vandalism not only takes the facility out of commission but also costs taxpayers money to fix it.
He estimated damage to the restroom at Harriet Tubman Park on Milwaukee's north side last year cost about $5,000 between staff time, repairs and materials. Images provided by the department show toilets smashed off the walls and a damaged sink area.
The problem has occurred in parks across the county, he said, adding that the department seeks to install fixtures that are "bombproof but beautiful."
In past years, restrooms that were vandalized were permanently closed except for permitted events.
This year, the department is planning to use a system in which a facility would be closed for increasing lengths of time with each subsequent incident. The first incident would lead to closure to the public for at least a week, with that time increasing until a closure for the remainder for the year after a fourth incident.
Portapotties will also be placed throughout the park system to supplement restroom access this year, according to a report to the committee.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Parks could open more restrooms this year
