The Unified Government Parks and Recreation Department has scheduled a recruitment event from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, June 18, at the Parkwood Pool, 950 Quindaro Blvd.
The UG will be recruiting individuals for its summer lifeguard training program. The event is scheduled around the same time as a protest planned that is aimed at reopening the pool to the public.
The protest was scheduled after a recent accident at the Parkwood Pool where youths climbed over the fence of the locked pool and went for a swim. One youth went under the water, was rescued and hospitalized, but later it was stated he had no brain activity.
The UG plans to reopen the pool in 2022, after it has trained a group of lifeguards. The UG’s paid work-study program for Wyandotte County swimmers ages 16 or older who are interested in being certified as a lifeguard.
According to a UG spokesman, the UG experienced a shortage of certified lifeguards, as did many other organizations in the area. In the past, the UG was a partner with the school district to start training in advance of the summer, but school facilities were not accessible because of COVID-19.
As a result, the UG was not able to recruit lifeguards and certified swim instructors to help support the operation of the Parkwood Pool this summer, according to the spokesman.
The pool is remaining closed this summer, the spokesman stated, because of the lack of lifeguards and also because of caution for public health, with youth under 12 unable to get the COVID-19 vaccination yet.
“While the Parkwood Pool is closed this year, we are already planning for 2022 when we hope the pandemic and labor shortage we have been experiencing is over,” Assistant County Administrator Emerick Cross said.
The Parkwood Pool will be drained following routine maintenance this weekend, the spokesman stated.