Case Date:

7/29/2024

This is a follow up on Case #192474 that Tim Street closed last week regarding unhoused individuals using the park shelter at Winslow Woods near the Community Gardens and Community Orchard as a camp. I appreciate that the BPD is aware, but these unhoused individuals continue to live in the shelter. We go to our garden plot at sunrise and they are there, sleeping, so they obviously sleep there overnight. They are there all day, taking over a third of the shelter. They continue to burn smoky, green wood in the grill. There things are spread all over. I’m not aware they harass anyone but it’s uncomfortable. Are you saying it’s okay that they live there? That anyone can basically take over a park building for private use on an ongoing basis? Because that is what they have done. It appears the City has simply ceded the park to these guys. This needs to be addressed in a better way. I feel that others should be free to use the shelter and surrounding area without these men making it feel unsafe.

Case Date:

8/11/2024

What are the safety protocols for lifeguards on duty? There are two lifeguards on duty for the main pool at 2:30 pm, but the elevated chairs designed for lifeguards to easily scan the pool are empty. Instead, both lifeguards are seated together, chatting on the staff bench. There are easily 60+ people at the Bryan Park Pool now and plenty of small children. Until this weekend, lifeguards at Bryan Park Pool used the elevated chairs all summer and rotated frequently. Follow-up to #192811: https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=192811

Case Date:

8/10/2024

Does the City of Bloomington/Parks and Rec have a lifeguard:patron ratio that they implement? As of 1:30 pm, there are about 30 people in the main pool (not including the deep end) and only one lifeguard on duty. This lifeguard was seated in an oversight chair on the south side of the pool. When I asked the four off-duty lifeguards about the ratio, one told me that only a single lifeguard was sufficient for the whole pool for the number of patrons. He also indicated that they did not need to close off the west end of the pool to reduce the scan area for the lone lifeguard. However, after that, he did ask the seated lifeguard to go down to ground level to scan the pool.

Case Date:

8/11/2024

What are the safety protocols for lifeguards on duty? There are two lifeguards on duty for the main pool at 2:30 pm, but the elevated chairs designed for lifeguards to easily scan the pool are empty. Instead, both lifeguards are seated together, chatting on the staff bench. There are easily 60+ people at the Bryan Park Pool now and plenty of small children. Until this weekend, lifeguards at Bryan Park Pool used the elevated chairs all summer and rotated frequently. Follow-up to #192811: https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=192811

Case Date:

8/18/2024

How does Bloomington determine the appropriate lifeguard-patron ratio for the city's public pools? How often is a responsible staff member actively evaluating safety needs during the course of the pool hours?  (Seeking an actual response, as I notice that recent U-reports asking this question have been closed despite zero answers.) On August 10-11, there was an alarming disconnect between lifeguards and actual use of the facility. Despite a hot, sunny weekend with dozens of patrons in and around the main pool (including plenty of small children), there was only a single lifeguard on duty sitting on the ground level staff bench for the **entire main pool**.  At least on Aug 17-18, the west end of the main pool was closed, reducing by half the active scan area for the single on duty lifeguard. It would be terrible to have a safety emergency at the city pools worsened by underestimating the need for lifeguards on duty.