Here’s why Tacoma public pools have such limited hours during the height of summer
Tacoma’s five public pools — three indoor and two outdoor — are usually open for business seven days a week this time of year.
That’s not the case this year, according to Jan Bretana, aquatics programs and facilities supervisor for Metro Parks Tacoma.
The reason? Not enough lifeguards.
“The group we’ve had is working really hard — we just need more of them,” Bretana said.
About 150 more, to be exact. Typically, Metro Parks employs around 300 lifeguards this time of year.
The shortfall is impacting pool operations. Instead of operating seven days a week, the pools are only open three days a week.
To try to bridge the gap, Metro Parks announced this week it is offering hundreds of dollars as an incentive for people to apply for open lifeguard jobs.
For certified lifeguards 16 and older, there’s a $500 incentive for an $18 per hour position through Sept. 6. Hours range from 25 to 40 hours per week.
Metro Parks is also seeking five head lifeguards (certified with two years of experience) 19 years and older and is offering a $600 incentive for $20 per hour through Sept. 6. Hours range from 30 to 40 hours per week.
People can apply online at governmentjobs.com/careers/metroparkstacoma and search for “lifeguard.”
Bretana said they aren’t seeing too many people apply yet, but it’s only been a couple of days since the announcement.
Most people who’ve applied in the past are high school-aged. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Metro Parks was forced to lay off much of its staff and has struggled to regain them.
“For the majority of them, they found other jobs,” Bretana said.
Metro Parks isn’t the only place struggling to hire.
In a City of Tacoma Economic Development Committee meeting last week, Workforce Central CEO Katie Condit told City Council members she’s seeing a trend of people being slow to return to work, either changing jobs or rethinking what they want to do.
That’s expected to change soon, she added. For one, people on unemployment are now required to prove they’re actively seeking work to continue to receive benefits — stipulations that were waived amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It has already been made very clear that we will see a flood of job seekers through our system in the next few weeks,” Condit said.
In the meantime, Metro Parks staff are being flexible and creative, Bretana said. They plan to open pools one extra day a week starting soon.
Stewart Heights (5715 Reginald Gutierrez Lane) and Kandle pools (5302 N. 26th St.) are outdoors, while Norpoint Center (4818 Nassau Ave. N.E.), People’s Center (1602 Martin Luther King Jr Way) and Eastside Community Center (1721 E. 56th St.) pools are indoors.
For detailed pool hours, visit metroparkstacoma.org/swimming.
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 12:44 PM.
