SE Vegas News

A shortage of available pool lifeguards has forced the City of Boulder to decrease hours of weekday swim times at pools across the city.

Beginning the week of Nov. 29, pools citywide will have just one lap pool open on weekdays until 7:30 p.m. and one leisure pool on weekday evenings, according to a release from the City of Boulder. 

“The ongoing labor shortage has impacted us in Boulder and has led to some tough choices,” Parks and Recreation Director Ali Rhodes said, according to the release. “Specifically, a lack of lifeguards means we have to reduce pool hours. The community has told us to prioritize youth and older adults, and the December schedule tries to balance access for all with limited staff.”

City of Boulder Parks and Recreation indicated that it is actively making efforts to recruit new aquatics staff to return to normal operations. The department said it is increasing wages and incentives to attract new employees and will implement a referral reward program for existing employees. A recently implemented benefit is a $5 six-month, all-facility recreation pass for seasonal and part-time employees.

“We are committed to fulfilling this base level of service, which will allow us to avoid last minute closures due to staffing fluctuations,” Rhodes said in the release. “We are allocating more resources to recruiting and training new lifeguards so that we can restore services as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to fill these aquatics positions.”

The department has also created several standard, benefited positions for qualified lifeguards year-round.