PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia is preparing to reopen its public pools this summer, after a season lost to COVID-19 last year. To prepare, the city is hiring lifeguards.
The Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department usually begins its recruitment drive in the dead of winter because hiring lifeguards is a multi-step process. They have to pass a test, then get trained, and then get Red Cross-certified before pools open in June. The job pays about $15 an hour.
Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell said no definite decision has been made about which pools, if any, will open but it was time to get the ball rolling or risk missing another season - not because of COVID-19 but because of a lack of lifeguards.
"We're hopeful that we'll be ready to open pools, so we want to prepare as best we can to make sure we are ready," she said. "We're really hopeful that people will be excited about the prospect of having a pool season and consider becoming a lifeguard this summer."
Lovell said the department is also doing an assessment to see what shape the pools are in after a year without use.
"A lot of our pools are very old, so we're taking a look at the conditions to see if the pools will be operable. We know there’s going to be a lot maintenance and repairs that need to happen."
The city needs hundreds of lifeguards to staff its pools. Last year, it was in the process of hiring when it decided it wouldn't be able to pull it off in light of the pandemic. Those that were hired were redeployed to the beefed-up Playstreets program.
That could happen again but Lovell says she's optmistic about a 2021 swim season.