Greenfield searches for a pool manager

Last year the Greenfield swimming pool started the season with 12 lifeguards and ended it with 10. They were forced to close for the season early due to a low level of staffing.

Right now, in anticipation for the 2023 season, the city had eight who had applied to be lifeguards as of late March. City leaders speculate that at the present time, that’s not enough to open up.

The city council, at their meeting Tuesday, March 28, moved to advertise for a pool manager. They hope that with the right person in place to lead the charge, more will want to apply to be a lifeguard.

The Operation Pool committee, organized by Deb Parrott, was scheduled to meet Tuesday, April 4, however severe weather forced the postponement of that meeting until 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18 at The Gathering Place.

A recent report in the newspaper stated that while being a lifeguard isn’t easy and you’re tasked with several things, it can be rewarding.

“If they all wanted to work 32 hours a week it might work,” said City Clerk Laura Wolfe of those who have shown interest. No interviews have been conducted yet. At least one individual had already shown interest for the manager position as of the middle of last week.

Wolfe said there are a couple of different schools of thought that can be followed. One is to have a general application for all pool positions and those who are interested in management can mark that on their application. Another option is to do what Greenfield is doing this year, and actually explicitly hire a manager.

“Next year when we run ads we’ll run one for pool manager and for lifeguards. We’ll be more explicit in what we want to hire,” Wolfe said. “Jimmie [Schultz], Jonathan [Christensen] and I can then hire whoever applies.”

As the weather gets better farther into spring, Public Works Director Brian Hoadley plans to give the city council a tour of the pool facility and show them the pros and cons of opening it or keeping it closed for the upcoming season. That conversation would likely lead well into the council making a decision in early May on whether or not they should open the pool for the season.