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Martinsville officials report uptick in fire runs, park programming and pool use; city to pay lifeguard certifications
Summary
City officials reported the fire department’s runs rose from 69 to 78 in 2025, parks hosted concerts and a revived fishing contest, the pool recorded about 13,030 admissions and the council agreed the city will pay lifeguard certification costs to aid recruitment.
Martinsville officials told the Common Council on Feb. 23 that the city saw modest increases in emergency response runs in 2025, expanded parks programming and higher pool use, and that the city will cover lifeguard certification to ease recruitment.
In a department report, staff said fire runs increased from 69 the prior year to 78 in 2025 and that the department has invested in a non-burn training structure used by multiple agencies. The presenter also cited roughly 7,100 police responses to calls for help during the period and said the patrol division handled arrests and narcotics enforcement; the meeting record contains slightly inconsistent figures for total calls in the transcript.
Parks staff reviewed 2025 event programming: two movie nights, eight concerts, a Fourth of July fishing contest with 47 registered participants, the city’s first pickleball tournament (22 teams) and expanded food-truck service to reduce lines. Parks staff said they sold 117 season pool passes and recorded 13,030 pool admissions for the 2025 season, hosted 26 private pool rentals and 708 combined venue and pool rentals for the year. Staff also reported offering 59 private swimming lessons and noted one scheduled December pickleball event (14 teams) was canceled because of a winter storm.
Council members asked whether the city would pay for lifeguard renewals and certifications; staff replied the city will cover certification costs to improve recruitment given the seasonal, low-paying nature of lifeguard positions.
Council members asked clarifying questions about incident categories (for example, that 'service calls' can include lockouts and smoke-detector checks and that 'special incidents' can include water rescues) and the presenter answered how events are coded. The presenter also said the city has limited housing resources for people experiencing homelessness and emphasized that being homeless is not a crime. Council encouraged residents to participate in public meetings and use the public comment period.
The council set its next meeting for March 9, 2026, at 7 p.m. in council chambers.
