Shannon representatives propose life‑jacket loaner station at Mary Lee Beach; board approves pending legal review and written plan

Representatives of Shannon’s Safe Kids program introduced a plan for a publicly accessible life‑jacket loaner station at Mary Lee Beach, Lake Nasworthy, aiming to reduce child drownings and improve water safety.

"This is a life jacket loaner station," said Jamie Harden, who said she runs Safe Kids San Angelo and has been working on water‑safety programs for nearly seven years. Harden told the board the coalition has partners who can help check inventory weekly during peak season and supply jackets from annual giveaway events. She said the goal is to have the station built by March 2026 and operating for the swimming season.

Harden described operational details: jackets would be stamped as loaners, signage would instruct proper fitting, volunteer coalition members would perform regular checks and replacements, and a QR‑code reporting system would link to a monitoring email. "We will stamp the jackets," Harden said, and "we will make a big public push to educate the public that this is a service — you borrow it, and then you return it." Amy Coates, also representing Shannon, described the hospital’s trauma‑services oversight and said the program would be reported to Safe Kids networks.

Board members asked how the program would sustain regular checks and who would be responsible if jackets were stolen or damaged. One board member asked for a written operational plan specifying duties, schedules and sources of replacement jackets. Legal liability also came up: a board member said the city needs to ensure it would not be exposed if a child were injured while using a loaner jacket on city property.

The board voted to approve the proposal pending two conditions: review and advice from the city attorney on liability/disclaimer language and the submission of an acceptable, written operational plan from KidSafe of San Angelo (the program lead) describing maintenance, inventory checks and reporting procedures. The city staff lead said once the documents are submitted they will be circulated to the board and the item can be revisited at a subsequent meeting if questions remain.

The approval is conditional, not a contract or permit: staff will follow up on the city‑attorney review and the program’s written plan before installation or formal execution of any agreement.

Next steps: Shannon’s Safe Kids team said they will prepare the operational plan and coordinate with city staff and legal counsel; the board requested prompt review so the station could be in place before the next recreational season.