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:

8/11/2024

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.