PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — It's not hard to imagine why anyone would want to spend time on a Pinellas County beach.
But as people pack the shoreline, we learn that the county struggles to maintain a full roster of lifeguards.
This comes after county parks and conservation leaders announced at a June commission meeting that they are still working to fill nine of their 25 lifeguard positions.
"This is a recurring issue within the department that correlates with a larger issue nationally with open water lifeguard programs," said Charlie Jenkins, a budget and technology analyst with the county.
"There do not seem to be enough qualified or interested people willing to be a lifeguard," said Paul Cozzie, the county's parks and conservation resources director.
It's a shortage that Pinellas County Commissioner Kathleen Peters said she wants to see addressed.
"We really want to make sure that everyone that comes out to our public beaches and our county parks really have a fun, wonderful experience and are always safe," said Peters.
And it's a push for safety that Peters said stretches far beyond the beach.
"When you look at a big park like Sand Key, Fort De Soto, or even Fred Howard Park, there's a lot of other things that happen that don't happen in the water," she said.
To help address the shortage, she said the county is now weighing three options:
- They can pull lifeguards from all county parks;
- They can downsize the lifeguard program and only have them in bigger county parks;
- Or they can expand the program to include seasonal and year-round positions, which they think may help with retention.
To better understand that last option, we went down to Manatee County to learn about its full-time lifeguard program.
"Right now, we have nine [full-time positions]. We're looking to fill seven more. And they are posted on mymanatee.org/jobs," said John Linxwiler, the aquatics captain for the county's department of public safety.
Linxwiler tells ABC Action News that the county also hires more than 30 seasonal lifeguards each summer.
He adds that adding those full-time positions to the mix has allowed people to turn this job into a career path—which has helped tremendously with recruiting and retaining lifeguards.
"I've currently lost one of my guards to the beach patrol. They see it as a career advancement because they can use their EMT skills out on the beach," he said.
And he encourages other counties to do the same.
"If you don't have full-time positions available, you need to go to your county commissioners and make arguments [as to] why you need those positions. And it's basically for the safety of the guests that are coming in," said Linxwiler.
Back in Pinellas County, Commissioner Peters told ABC Action News that it's an option that would bring peace of mind. But she added that it would also mean increased spending to pay for those extra salaries.
To help leaders determine the best option, the commission will hold a meeting in September to talk to parks and conservation staff.
"So the county staff are working really hard at bringing in data so that we have enough data to really look at what's best for Pinellas County," said Peters.
