Aquatic center manager presents new staff manual and emergency action plan; supervisors will seek governing-body approval

Ryan, the recreation/aquatics presenter, walked the council through a new aquatic center staff manual and an emergency action plan the department prepared to standardize operations and emergency responses.

Staff said the manual consolidates existing policies and adds new procedures including mapped lifeguard zones, scheduled in-service trainings, a troubleshooting guide for pool chemistry, and a requirement that children 9 years old and younger must be accompanied by a paid chaperone at least 14 years old while at the pool. City staff said managers will be required to hold state-required pool-operator credentials and that the manual outlines managers’ permitted chemical-handling duties.

The proposed emergency action plan assigns primary, secondary and backup responsibilities to lifeguards at each station, defines a radio/walkie-talkie emergency communicator role, and specifies five station roles for incident response. The manual also formalizes a five-point disciplinary system for lifeguards: progressive written warnings and corrective steps culminating in termination at five points, with a path to earn back points through work such as facility cleanups.

Ryan told the council the manual is intended as a day-to-day reference and an emergency “bible” for lifeguards. Staff said the manual will be routed through the park board and the governing body for formal approval and that managers will ask staff to sign the manual after the governing body has reviewed it; no final adoption vote was recorded in the council transcript.