Cordova's only full-time pool lifeguard leaves Friday, and director expects limited staffing

Cordova's only full-time pool lifeguard leaves Friday, Parks and Recreation Director Samantha Hagerthy-Schneider told the Parks and Recreation Commission on Tuesday. A second lifeguard leaves in January. She said staffing at the Bob Korn Memorial Swimming Pool in November and December is likely to be even more limited than it has been.

The pool reopened Oct. 22 after boiler repairs, Alaska News reported Oct. 21. That closure came about a month after the pool returned from a 16-month shutdown.

Hagerthy-Schneider said the city has $25,000 this year for temporary pool staff. Running October's schedule for a full year would cost about $70,000, she said. The pool once had two full-time lifeguards and a part-time lifeguard. Temporary workers cost less because they are not offered health insurance, but they can work only about six months, or 1,020 hours, a year.

The Bidarki Recreation Center needs about $60,000 in temporary help and got $35,000, she said. Because the same temporary workers staff both buildings, Bidarki will close at 7 pm on weekdays so more of them can cover the pool. She plans to post the November pool schedule by Thursday.

The pool closed for about three days after a fuel pump failed. The boiler stopped again Monday. That problem and a chemical issue cost the Wolverines swim team a practice, which the team made up Tuesday morning.

Hagerthy-Schneider travels to Juneau on Nov. 7 to renew her lifeguard instructor certification. She plans to teach a lifeguarding course for a new full-time hire and anyone else who wants to become a lifeguard. She will be away from Nov. 23 to Dec. 7.

A commission member asked whether the rule requiring two lifeguards could bend for swim teams. Hagerthy-Schneider said only if teams bring their own volunteer lifeguards, citing Red Cross training, CDC guidance and insurance, and said the Red Cross could pull the city's swim lesson certification. "I'm not cutting corners on safety for us," she said. She added that she does not want kids to stop swimming.

Commissioner Kelsey Hayden said the proposed $25,000 for next year "is going to get us three months of what October looked like and then nothing the rest of the year." She said she is willing to pay a higher property tax to keep kids in the pool.

Hagerthy-Schneider said the 2027 pool budget looks similar to this year's, and 2028 might look better. The Cordova City Council has backed carrying about $1 million into 2027, when fish tax is expected to be "unprecedentedly low."