Item 8CAGENDA ITEM ft 8C
JULY 12, 2010
STAFF REPORT
City of Atlantic Beach
Commission Meeting
AGENDA ITEM: Report on Lifeguard Staffing
DATE: July 2, 2010
SUBMITTED BY: David E. Thompson, Asst. City Manager
BACKGROUND:
At the June 28, 2010 City Commission meeting, staff was directed to research and
provide additional information relative to lifeguard staffing.
Relative to staffing, it would be helpful to have a recognized formula that would
determine the necessity for lifeguards on a particular stretch of beach. One could ascribe
point values to various facets of the beach and the people, and the final point value would
provide an answer to the staffing questions. However, a review of the existing literature
and discussions with professional organizations in this field do not reveal such a formula.
The World Health Organization Guidelines for safe recreational water environments
points out that lifeguard decisions are typically made based on hazards and risks. In a
beach environment, the hazard is significant, and it remains present 24 hours per day, 365
days per year. However, risk is based on probabilities. And probabilities include many
factors including the time of day, beach currents, hazards, ages of people in the water
(unsupervised children at high risk), alcohol consumption, tourists (strangers to the
beaches), and the numbers of people in the water. It was noted that the swimming skills
of the people do not appear to impact the risk of drowning. It is also clear that the
incidence of drowning is greatly reduced when there are professional lifeguards present;
and in the event of a near drowning, the prognosis for survival is more dependent on the
initial rescue and resuscitation than on the quality of the subsequent hospital care.
Local officials are required to use the available historical data, experience, and public
input to determine where and when to place lifeguard towers on the beach. Atlantic
Beach tracks the populations at the various locations throughout the summer, and most of
the lifeguard leadership members have 15 years experience or more guarding Atlantic
Beach. They utilize data and their experience to determine where the most people are
going to be in the water, and where the greatest need is for lifeguard coverage.
In 2010, when faced with a reduction in the lifeguard budget, a reduction in the number
of towers was necessary. Based on data and experience, the decision was made to reduce
the coverage in the locations with the lowest population counts. The lifeguard manpower
expenditures for 2009 totaled $148,270. In 2010, the budget for lifeguard manpower was
reduced to $129,455.
AGENDA TtEM # 8C
JULY 12, 2010
The City of Atlantic Beach provided lifeguards at the following locations on the
designated schedules starting on Memorial Day and finishing on Labor Day (not
including training in April and May):
Location 2009 2009 Populations 2010
Station 7 Days/Week 8473 7 Days/Week
3`d Street 7 Days/Week 3478 7 Days/Week
7th Street 7 Days/Week 3446 7 Days/Week
11`x' Street 7 Days/Week 5183 7 Days/Week
18th Street 7 Days/Week 3779 7 Days/Week
19th Street 7 Days/Week 2638 7 Days/Week
Oceanwalk 7 Days/Week 1019 Weekends/Holidays
15th Street Weekends/Holidays Weekends/Holidays
17th Street Weekends/Holidays Holidays
The "2009 Populations" includes the total population counts taken by the lifeguards on
the towers at 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM each day during the lifeguard season. This number
includes people on land and in the water.
The average population count at the Oceanwalk tower on weekdays (non holidays) was
14.5 people. This number includes people on land and in the water.
As a result of the reduced funding, the weekend lifeguard tower located at 17th Street was
eliminated, and the Oceanwalk tower was reduced to weekends only.
A review of the data confirms that the Oceanwalk tower had the lowest population counts
when compared to the other towers staffed 7 Days/Week. During 2008 and 2009, there
were a total of four (4) flag drops at the Oceanwalk tower. All four (4) were on
Saturdays. During 2008 and 2009 at 17th Street, there were two (2) flag drops.
Based on the input and questions from citizens, it appears that the primary issue before
the City Commission is not based on the selection of which towers were eliminated. It
appears that the central issue is whether or not the reduction in the lifeguard services is
the best solution to the fiscal challenges faced by the City.
There are a number of options available to the City Commission, and each option has a
different set of outcomes and costs:
Options/Costs #1: Leave the budget and the lifeguard coverage as they presently exist.
Educate the beachgoers relative to the risks and the choices that they have available to
them. No change in budget is required.
AGENDA ITEM ~ 8C
.IDLY 12, 2010
Option #2: Restore funding for the Oceanwalk tower Monday-Friday. Based on the
remaining summer schedule, staffing this tower through Labor Day will cost
approximately $4700.
Option #3: Restore funding for the 17th Street tower on weekends/hoiidays. Staffing
this tower through Labor Day will cost approximately $1,300.
Option #4: Restore funding for both Oceanwalk and 17~' Street towers to 20091evels.
This will cost approximately $6,000.
Note: It has been suggested that perhaps the lifeguards should staff the Oceanwalk
tower 3 hours per day, or lifeguards could be shifted up to the Oceanwalk tower if they
saw people at that location. This would actually cause more problems than it would
solve. The public expects the lifeguards to be present for the full day. Part time staffing
would probably lead to people expecting a level of lifeguard coverage in a given location,
and then finding that the lifeguard has been reassigned to another location. Additionally,
shifting a lifeguard to one tower would require pulling a lifeguard from another tower.
This means that one of the busier towers would end up without a lifeguard.
BUDGET: See Options Abave
RECOMMENDATIONS: The purpose of this report was to provide information to the
elected officials relative to the lifeguard staffing and budget.
ATTACHMENTS: NONE
REVIEWED BY CITY MANAGER:
A NDA ITEM NUMBER: