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Angleton board tables natatorium hours, asks staff for detailed lifeguard cost analysis
Summary
City staff outlined six options to reduce lifeguard costs and adjust pool hours — including delaying opening by one hour and shortening peak season — but the board requested clearer math and user input and voted to table the item until staff returns with corrected figures.
City staff presented detailed options on Dec. 16 to rebalance hours and lifeguard coverage at the Angleton Recreation Center’s natatorium, saying safety requirements and visibility issues have driven a proposal to increase lifeguard staffing and then mitigate cost through schedule changes.
Jason O’Meara, presenting staff analysis, told the Angleton Better Living Corporation that visual blind spots caused by the existing play structure and pool walls require increased coverage and that lifeguards operate under a 20:10 rule—"20 seconds to survey their area, or 10 seconds to survey and 20 seconds to respond"—which informed the staffing model. He said the department asked to budget for five guards on shift (four on stand plus one rotating break) to meet those coverage needs.
To offset a previously requested $141,000 increase for lifeguard staffing in the budget, staff proposed six cost‑reduction options: delay the daily opening from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. (estimated savings $14,573); shorten the peak season by three weeks to follow the school calendar (estimated savings $65,100); eliminate the non‑peak morning slide attendant (spoken packet figure unclear; staff to clarify); reduce evening openings to Tuesday–Thursday during non‑peak season (about $21,000 savings); limit morning openings to Monday/Wednesday/Friday (about $30,000 savings); and close the pool on some city holidays (estimated up to ~$9,000 if all 11 holidays were closed). Staff also noted a three‑week overlap for the slide attendant would create only about $420 of double coverage in their estimate.
Board members pressed staff for clearer calculations and asked whether savings were being double counted when proposals overlapped. Several members warned that repeatedly changing posted hours risks losing regular users: "The worst thing you can do is keep changing your hours," warned an unnamed board member. Others urged that if the opening hour is moved, staff must reliably open the facility at the new time to avoid confusing patrons.
Staff said attendance data shows very low usage in the 5:30 a.m. slot—typically one or two users—and that usage usually grows between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. They also reported ongoing recruitment challenges for lifeguards and that staffing levels had improved in recent months but were not yet at the full target. Staff recommended a public input period (30–60 days) before implementing more drastic schedule changes that would reduce service days.
After discussion, board member Travis Townsend moved to table the item until the next meeting so staff could provide corrected packet calculations (hour counts, average pay rates, and clearer savings estimates); Gary Dickey seconded the motion, and it carried.
The board asked staff to return with a detailed breakdown of how each proposal affects total hours and payroll costs, corrected math for figures in the packet, and recommendations for targeted public outreach before any schedule change is adopted.
