Half of Tucson's public pools to stay closed this summer

A shortage of lifeguards is forcing the city of Tucson to keep half of its 20 public pools closed this summer.

Meanwhile, Pima County is opening all of its nine pools but will reduce the hours — closing on Fridays and Sundays instead of just Fridays — to make up for being down as many as 40 lifeguards.

The lifeguard shortage dilemma that started around 2018 has reached a pinnacle that could put a crimp in many families’ summer pastimes as pool hours are reduced and families in areas where pools have closed are forced to drive farther.

The city will only open 10 pools — Edith Ball Adaptive Recreation Center at Reid Park; Archer Pool at 1665 S. La Cholla Blvd.; Catalina Pool at 2005 N. Dodge Blvd.; Clements Pool at Pima Community College East, 8155 E. Poinciana Drive; Fort Lowell Pool at 2900 N. Craycroft Road; Mansfield Pool at 2275 N. Fourth Ave.; Purple Heart Pool at 10050 E. Rita Road; Quincie Douglas Pool at 1563 E. 36th St.; Sunnyside Pool at 1725 E. Bilby Road; and Udall Pool at 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road in Udall Park — this summer, from June 2 to Aug. 3.

“I remember when we had over 300 lifeguards; now we are barely in the 80s,” said Billy Sassi, who has worked for the city since 1980 and manages the Parks and Recreation Department’s aquatics programs.

Sassi said the city has no choice but to close pools this summer as it did last year, when it also faced a lifeguard shortage. In summer 2021, the city opened a dozen pools.

Grant Bourguet, the longtime Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation department manager, said that while the county pools will be open, “all of them will be impacted by the number of lifeguards that we have in one way or another.”

“We normally have a down day, typically a Friday. This year we will close all the pools on Sundays and Fridays to make up for the shortfall” in lifeguards, he said. “A full complementary of staff is between 150 and 160 lifeguards; we’re looking at having about 120 to 125.”

What won’t be impacted by the shortfall is the county’s popular swim team program, which involves hundreds of kids ages 5 to 18 from throughout the Tucson area. The teams compete through mid-July.

Bourguet and Sassi blame the lifeguard shortfall on a number of issues, from the pay to the pandemic. In 2020 when pools were closed, would-be lifeguards weren’t able to take the certification classes, which greatly reduced the pool of certified lifeguards the city and county could hire.

Bourguet said a lot of the potential job pool of mostly teens found work elsewhere, including at fast-food restaurants that offered comparable pay without having to get certified.

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“When I was 16 back in 1998, ‘99, lifeguarding pay was close to double minimum wage. Slowly over time, it has actually dropped to minimum wage,” Bourguet said. “Now we are kind of competing with private industry where you aren’t required to get a certification. ... Our lifeguard pay today is the highest regionally at $15.75 as an entry point, but if you go to In-’N-Out, they are hiring for $16, $17 minimum. We are competing with them for the same pot of employees.”

Bourguet said he also has a hard time getting teen workers to commit to working full time through the summer. Many come to the job wanting the flexibility to work part-time hours or leave in the middle of the summer.

Sassi said he also thinks that young people who used to clamor for lifeguarding jobs are now more interested in tech-oriented jobs.

“Hopefully they will come back around again,” he said.

City pools begin summer hours on June 2. Summer hours for county pools begin May 28.

The lifeguard shortage is barely registering in the northwest side towns of Marana and Oro Valley.

As of last week, Marana was looking to fill one lifeguard position for its lone town pool, said Manager Kevin Goodrich, and Oro Valley was fully staffed, according to Brandon Laue, who manages the Oro Valley Aquatics Center — the busiest of the town’s two public pools.

Laue said the year-round Aquatics Center has a lifeguard staff of between 30 and 40 part-timers, many of whom work throughout the year.

Laue admitted Oro Valley was struggling to fill positions in the off-season, but the town added a lifeguarding course leading up to the summer season and offered potential lifeguards a refund of the course fee if they worked for the town.

Oro Valley pays its lifeguards $13.90 an hour and most work 19 hours a week, Laue said.