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Astoria parks board adjusts Aquatic Center schedule amid lifeguard staffing shortfalls; lifeguard lauded for emergency response
Summary
Parks staff proposed a change to Aquatic Center hours to match staffing capacity—swimming available Tuesday–Saturday 06:30–18:30 with dry-land fitness on Mondays—citing recruitment challenges; Ethan McCarley, a head lifeguard, was recognized for managing multiple emergencies and a large evacuation during a power outage.
Parks staff told the Astoria Parks Advisory Board that Aquatic Center pool hours will be adjusted to match current staffing capacity: pools will be open Tuesday through Saturday from about 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., while dry-land fitness areas will remain available on Mondays. The change aims to increase continuous swim availability during higher-use times while reducing facility hours overall by about five hours per week.
Why it matters: Board members warned that losing Monday swim availability could push regular users to neighboring cities. Staff said the change is driven by inconsistent availability among part-time lifeguards; increasing swimming hours on Saturdays and consolidating mid-week hours is intended to better serve peak demand without overtaxing limited personnel.
Staff presented staffing and budget context: the parks staff member reported a part-time personnel budget of $190,000 (about $15,000 per month if fully used) but said the underlying problem is not strictly pay—there are insufficient applicants willing to cover early-morning and consistent shifts. The staff member said the department needs roughly 8–10 reliable part-time lifeguards working about 15–20 hours per week to stabilize coverage. "We don't have a good way of doing that when every single week we're essentially having to remake the schedule," the staff member said.
Board responses and options: Several board members pressed for exploring more permanent full-time positions or additional funding to reduce reliance on inconsistent part-time staff; one board member recalled earlier success with hiring permanent positions and suggested investigating alternative funding or compensation strategies. Staff said they are recruiting and certify lifeguards through an Ellis program and run an onboarding and shadowing process; some high-school swim-team members are already on staff but have limited morning availability.
Employee recognition: The board recognized Ethan McCarley as employee of the month for his response to multiple incidents, including managing a vomit-related pool closure, assisting a person who suffered a head injury after fainting, and safely evacuating about 100 patrons during a power outage. Staff praised Ethan's composure in handling concurrent emergencies.
Next steps: Staff will continue recruitment efforts and report back on hiring progress; board members volunteered to support recruitment and suggested the department explore funding options to expand reliable full-time staffing if feasible.
